The Dark Knight
by Incinerator1
Summary: Hakon Haddock's mother was killed in front of him when he was a boy. Years later he is considered a weakling with only the drive to fight injustice as his strength. So when a dormant power awakens within him, Hiccup must deal with gangs, a hostile city and an infuriatingly sarcastic partner to clean up the streets and maybe save the world along the way. Superhero Multicrossover AU
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Death In The Family

 _Berk, 7 Years Ago_

 _No POV._

"Mommy I made rainbow explosions!" Shouted a small child no more than 10 years old prancing around his mother, his light auburn hair covered in colored stains that were faded, but still visible. His green eyes were burning with excitement and joy whilst his mother smiled at his antics.

"Oh Hiccup, you shouldn't have mixed those together, you could've been hurt." Hiccup's mother's tone was reprimanding, but her eyes shone a certain kindness that couldn't be seen by Hiccup as the boy stopped moving and hung his head down.

"I'm sorry." Said Hiccup. Hiccup's mother, Valka was a world-renounced scientist in the field of bio-organics, but she was mostly prominent in her research into meta-humans, super powered beings that started appearing in the late 1990's. Hiccup had begged her for two days straight to see what his "mad scientist mommy" did at work and she decided to bring him. Her colleagues adored Hiccup and now she was bringing him home from a disastrous mess with some chemicals, Hiccup's curious nature, and a really colorful explosion. So now she was walking Hiccup home, putting on a stern look at her son. However, his cute baby face broke her down slowly until she ruffled his hair and he giggled in glee.

"Oh I can't stay mad at you my little dragon." Said Valka, however, ruffling her son's hair drew attention to her wristwatch, showing that it was already 9:45 PM, 45 minutes after she was supposed to bring him home. "Oh dear, we're late! Your father's probably thinking we're being mugged, c'mon Hiccup, no time to waste!"

"Yay, we're gonna take a short cut!" Hiccup squealed as Valka took his hand and ran down a back alley. Little did they know though of the dark figure that was following behind them, his scarred face frowning at the sight of the scientist and her brat.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Present Time_

 _Hiccup POV._

I woke up with a jolt, jumping out of my bed. I was sweating heavily and panting as I recounted the events of seven years ago as if it had happened yesterday and I relaxed when I remembered it was just a dream.

 _Whew, ok Hakon, just a dream, just a… oh no._ I thought, looking to my alarm clock displayed the time 7:00, thirty minutes after my alarm was supposed to wake me up. I rushed to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, freshened myself up and did all the morning essentials before running down to the kitchen to grab a quick meal which was laid out for me in the form of a slice of buttered toast and a note from my dad:

" _Didn't want to wake you, went to the precinct early, enjoy breakfast. – Stoick"_

Psh, typical dad, ignoring me and leaving some scraps to try and keep me alive, but due to the situation I just ran for the first piece of food I saw and bolted out the door. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself didn't I. My name is Hakon H. Haddock III. I know, great name right. Better than my nickname though, "Hiccup". I hate that name, mainly because it's derogatory and offensive, but it brings back some memories I don't like resurfacing. Now the question on your minds right now, what was that dream I just had? To answer this question, I'd like to start from the beginning. When I was 10 my mom, Valerie "Valka" Hadrian Haddock was killed right in front of my eyes by a man with one arm and my dad Stephen Haddock (or Stoick as his friends called him), being a lieutenant in the Berk Police, fought tooth and nail to find whoever killed her, but the one armed man fell off the grid before he could be found. The "incompetence" of the local PD, as the news put it, sparked the worst crime wave in the history of Berk. Criminals and the general scum of the earth thought the police had finally gone soft and with all the corruption in the force itself and many important lawyers and politicians, crime is allowed to run free. And don't even get me started on the metahumans.

That kinda drove a wedge between my dad and me and our relationship hasn't been the same, more so since I just got into high school at Bork High. With school, everything becomes more complicated. My dad's barely around the house, given his position as lieutenant of the force; and with me needing to pitch in extra effort in after school activities and a larger workload, we spend less and less time around each other than we ever have and only communicate through notes or sometimes texting or the occasional one-word conversations.

Now back to the present, late for school, bus left bus stop, chasing bus… oh wait, I haven't gotten to that part yet. So after snatching the morsel of what my dad calls breakfast, I jumped out the door of the house and ran as fast as I could to the bus stop, only to find the school bus slowly disappearing into the horizon.

"NO, WAIT!" I shouted, running even faster to try and catch up to the bus. Due to my very scrawny, paper-thin build, it felt like I was running with weights for shoes trying to catch up to the bus. Luckily though, it hit a stop light ahead and I was able to catch up. I rapped at the door as loud as I could, panting and sweating like I just ran a marathon. The bus driver didn't even glance as he opened the door and I nearly crawled onto the bus, but that wasn't even the worst part. As I clambered in, nearly all the eyes on the bus concentrated on me. For two brief seconds I felt like I was going to faint, not from the running, but from the sheer tension that was in those two seconds, but then, just like that everyone returned to what they were doing, chattering and dicking around the bus as I searched the rows for somewhere to sit. There was an empty seat next to this girl, but she glanced at me once and casually moved herself to the seat along the aisle, giving the not-so subtle message of "go away". It was like that for every row on the bus, people whom seemed pretty friendly to others turned me away like I was diseased. Finally, I reached the end of the bus, at a seat not quite at the back, but just neglected enough that there was no one around me. It was at this moment I relaxed and put my aching legs to rest and drowned out all the noise around me and just waited patiently for school to officially start.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Bork High_

 _Hiccup POV._

Inside the school was absolute chaos with students running around, getting accustomed to returning to, or beginning high school. There was the incessant nattering about the "magnificent" weekend everyone had, days with friends, movies seen, even a few visits to completely different places like San Fransokyo, Corona, Dunbroch and other such places, spoken by the rich pricks of the school. My weekend? Well, it was mainly sitting at home alone with my dad which mostly consisted of a several silent hours in a practically empty house, and my dad being called to work early because of some major crime that "needed his attention", leaving me alone for hours, even an entire day before he remembers I exist.

So anyways, school was chaos and I tried making my way to homeroom as quickly and silently as possible, but, as usual, someone rather unpleasant noticed me.

"Cousin Hiccup the Useless!" shouted a gruff voice. I cringed at the title and turned to meet my doom and before I knew it, five figures were cornering me agains the lockers. At the forefront, Stuart "Snotlout" Jorgenson, quarterback of Bork High's Vikings, Senior, and my "cousin" by blood, but he barely acts like family. Ever since he moved to Berk in 6th grade, he's been using his glaringly obvious physical advantage over me to torment and abuse me for years.

"Hello Snotlout." I replied, hastily trying to get away, but Snotlout had other ideas as he grabbed my shoulder and roughly slammed me against the lockers.

"Oh but Hiccup, we haven't seen each other in so long and I've been _dying_ to see you, isn't that right guys?" Snotlout said, looking to the rest of his group, specifically two snickering fraternal twins, Rachel and Tommy Thorston, or Ruffnut and Tuffnut as they've been dubbed.

"Yeah, heh, dying." Snickered Ruffnut. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, for a long time, have dedicated themselves to following the god Loki, god of pranks. As such, they've pulled off the most daring and dastardly pranks over the years, to students, teachers, adults, and their favorite target: me.

"Dying? Wait, we're not dead? Are we?" asked Tuffnut. Yeah, they may be pranksters, but they aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, if you get me.

"Dunghead, it's an expression!" said Ruffnut, slapping her brother at the back of his head.

"Hey!" Tuffnut replied, retaliating against his sister with another slap.

"Uh, guys, m-maybe we should try not to start a fight on the first day of school." Nervously croaked another voice. Frank "Fishelgs" Ingerman, one of the nerds of Bork High and Snotlout's pet nerds. He does the work Snotlout and the twins are to "academically lacking" to do, in exchange for hanging with the cool kids of the school and not getting his ass kicked on a daily basis. We used to be good friends once upon a time, but after Snotlout came it was survival of the fittest and apparently, my chubby friend was more fit than me.

"Yeah guys, knock it off, if anyone's gonna start anything do it later." Ordered Snotlout and the twins stopped glaring at each other. As the conflict continued I attempted to slip away, but Snotlout noticed this and held me tight by the shirt collar and I was trapped. "Now where were we, oh right, so Hiccup, why don't we start this year with the usual tribute."

Snotlout held out a coarse hand out and made a "give it up" motion and I knew exactly what that meant.

"Come on Snotlout, isn't this a little Middle school for you?" I asked but Snotlout only tightened his grip on me.

"What can I say, can't teach an old dog new tricks, now, lunch money." Snoltout growled and I thought of a terrible quip that might just give me a bruise.

"Yeah, you are pretty dog-like. Bulldog? No, I see more ugly pug or fluffy poodle in you." I remarked. Next thing I knew I'm thrown onto the floor with Snotlout towering over me.

"Oh so where did you get this attitude? I'll have to put you back in your place." Snotlout raised his foot to stomp me in the chest and I cringed in anticipation for the hit, but it never came. When I looked, I saw a bandaged hand on Snotlout's shoulder and through the ceiling lights of the school, it seemed as though a guardian angel had saved me.

"Enough Snotlout, you can settle this later, right now we have to get to class." Said a voice. Astrid Hofferson, the most beautiful and amazing girl in the entire school. She's athletic, smart and a complete mystery to anyone but herself and my secret crush since she moved to Berk about 7th grade. She seemed to fit into nowhere as she was at the top of the school food chain until Snotlout's gang formed up and they just absorbed her in one day and then the gang was complete.

"Of course babe, anything for you." Snotlout winked, but Astrid rolled her eyes in disgust as she led the group away, leaving me sitting on the floor, adjusting my glasses and silently having a breakdown.

 _Oh god, Astrid stood up for me! What could this mean? Is this a sign? Wait, crap, class is almost starting!_ I thought as I ran to my homeroom, trying to forget the serious beat down I was going to get after school.

 _Timeskip: After School_

 _Crap, now I really got myself into trouble._ I thought as Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut had me backed against the wall of the bathroom. I tried my best to avoid them, going so far as to use the back exit of the school, but the found me before I could escape. They dragged me to the closest bathroom and now had me backed against the sinks.

"So Useless, thought you could escape huh? You're gonna pay for making me look bad in front of Astrid." Said Snotlout, cracking his knuckles menacingly. It would have scared my pants off years ago, but now it just made my sarcastic side come out, a bad time at that.

"Well, you didn't really need me to do that." I quipped and I could see veins pop out of Snotlout's skull.

"Alright smartass, you wanna play it that way? Tuff, grab him!" Barked Snotlout and Tuffnut charged towards me and held my hands behind my back. Snotlout then painfully grabbed me by the hair and pulled me towards one of the stalls. By now I could see what was coming, but I could do nothing against my stronger opponents as they shoved my head in the toilet and hit the flush. I know, a swirly, old school, but extremely effective. After almost drowning me in toilet water, Snotlout lifted my head and brought my face close to his. "Anything else to say?"

Unfortunately for me, either my bravery or stupidity, I had a lot of things to say, none of them good for my health.

"Why is Ruffnut in the boys bathroom with us? Or are we in the girls bathroom with Ruffnut? I can never tell which you are Snotlout, a really ugly boy or a very ugly girl?"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Streets_

 _Hiccup POV._

"That was a terrible idea." I mumbled as I dragged myself home, twenty bucks poorer and smelling like I just took a bath in toilet water… oh wait, I did take a bath in toilet water. Every day I have to walk home instead of the bus because I have to buy ingredients for food as my dad has no idea how to cook and I have to fill in mom's place to sustain both of us. What's worse is that I have to pass the same alley every day I walk home, the alley where my mom was killed, aptly renamed Hellheim's Gate. The very thought of that place gave me shivers, the crack of the gun and my mom falling to the ground with a hole in her chest. Absorbed in my thoughts, I hadn't noticed I'd come up on the alley until I heard a shout come from the alleyway. My head perked up at the sound and, against my better judgment, ran right for the alley. What I saw there almost shocked me more than my mom's death. Before me was a man on the ground and standing before him was a figure, probably about 5'10" with glowing, pixel-like stains surrounding him and the same pixel like forms surrounding his arms. Whilst looking at the boy, only one thought reached my mind:

 _Metahuman._

Metahumans started appearing a few years ago about the late 1960's. Records of metahumans were never officially recorded. The only real and confirmed sighting of a metahuman was a woman dubbed "Snow White". She had the ability to talk to and control animals as well as summon spirits of the earth that people called the Seven Dwarves. She disappeared around the mid 1980's, but she, unfortunately wasn't the last. All across the world from the City of Burgess all the way to Pride Rock, Africa, the metahumans population grew fast and soon enough, there were more metahumans around the world than ants in a backyard. With the growth of metahumans came the rise of the generic comic book superhero and supervillain, but also fear of having over a million regular people with the power to cause a mass genocide of "normal" people on a whim.

So about a decade before I was born, the governments of the world issued the isolation and elimination of the metahumans by having scientists find the "metahumans gene" in fetuses before they are born and since they're the freaking government, they abort the baby. Some governments did not comply to this new international law and closed their borders to prevent the other countries coming after them. The things that people do when they're afraid. As much outrage that this law caused, the pre-existing metahumans were even more outraged and some even went antiestablishment and attacked anything government. This caused serious backlash when the world declared an open meta-hunt and by the mid 2000's, all the metahumans were either killed, imprisoned or in hiding. There are the random spikes here and there, when especially powerful metahumans are missed during the pre-birth exams as the metahuman gene is very tricky to identify and about half a dozen fetuses are not identified. Even after the age of metahumans, society still cultivated a negative image of them, naming them freaks and monsters and encouraging their constant persecution. Personally, I have no problems with the existence of metahumans, the good ones, if there are any, are a big help to humanity and should be kept around. But if they decide to turn on the people, then their destruction is justified. The world isn't as black and white as that, but I've never really met a metahuman so my opinion may be biased. Until now that is.

"F-Freak!" shouted the man

"N-No, I didn't mean to, I'm sorry!" said the figure as I came closer and hid behind a dumpster close by. With a better point of view I could now see that it was a boy, probably as old as me with black hair, pale skin and tattered clothes. The boy with glowing arms reached for the man, but he screamed in panic.

"NO, GET AWAY FROM ME!" he shouted, pulling out a gun from under him and pointing it at the boy. I panicked at the sight of the weapon and accidentally knocked over some cans lying around. Both the man with the gun and the boy looked at me, however, the man, in his state of shock, fired the gun and instead of hitting the boy, the gun was pointed at me, as well as the bullet. My eyes widened in shock and time seemed to slow down as my last moments on earth came closer.

 _So this is how it ends. How ironic this is the place._ I thought as the bullet was about to hit, but to my surprise, something happened that would change my life forever.

"NO!" shouted the boy as he flung his arm at me and a pixelated blast shot out of his arm and hit me square in the chest. I was flung back a few feet from the force of the blast and my head hit something hard and the world began to spin. Everything after that was a large blur, I remember screaming, blood, loud noises and then a bed of grass as I passed out.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Unknown_

 _Hiccup POV._

I woke up in a room of white. It wasn't anywhere I'd seen before, or anywhere at all, it was just all white, everything except me.

 _Where am I?_ I thought, then all the events in the alleyway came flooding back and I started to freak out. _"No, no, no, no, the guy, that… metahuman! He hit me with some weird blast! A-Am I dead?"_

I spoke out lout without the thought that someone would reply, but when someone did, it scared the living daylights out of me.

" _No, you're not dead."_ Said the voice, it sounded like static and fear combined into a single voice.

" _Who-Who said that?!"_ I asked

" _Turn around."_ Said the voice and when I did, I nearly screamed. It was the only thing with color in where this place was aside from me, but it was all black and blurry. The… thing standing before me looked like a bunch of ink splotches vaguely forming a human shape, but it seemed to be wearing a sort of long, foot-length coat, long sleeved and open down the middle, revealing a short glowing line. It's head had two pointed ears and the most menacing stare with its' glowing blue eyes.

" _What are you?!"_ I shouted, slowly backing away.

" _What would you do if you had power?"_ the figure asked, ignoring my question. I tilted my head in confusion.

" _W-What?"_

" _What would you do if you had power?"_ asked the figure once more.

" _Power? What power?"_

" _Power. The power to change the world. Power to avenge those you have lost. Power to redeem yourself for the death of your mother."_ Said the figure, its' eyes glowing brighter and electricity crackling in its' hands. My eyes widened like dinner plates and I backed away slowly as the figure reached for me with his sparking hands. He suddenly grabbed my head and I felt a jolt of electricity shoot through my brain. A torrent of images blasted through my head, memories I had of my childhood with my mother but also memories of things I've never seen before, pain like I've never felt. The memories were like fuzzy ten pixel videos, but there was one thing I could feel throughout the experience… sadness, despair… death. The figure released me and I slumped down to my knees, holding back tears, clutching my head at what I saw.

"W-What was that?" I stammered.

" _Do you want the power to stop that pain from happening."_ Asked the figure and I looked into its' eyes.

"Will it stop. Will the power stop the pain." I asked. I felt hesitation in the figure and after a few long, tense seconds the figure replied:

" _No."_ I was somewhat shocked at the figure's answer. It started out trying to convince me to take whatever power it was handing out, now it tells me that it can't stop any of the pain or suffering it showed me.

"Wha-?" I started, but the figure raised its' hand and I shut my mouth.

" _The pain cannot be stopped, the pain can never be stopped. However, with each trial you survive, with all the pain you take, you take from the people you protect. Think about it, do you want anyone else to suffer as you had? To watch as the one who loved you most die in front of your eyes, helpless and useless to stop it? Do you want the bullies of the world to continue throwing around the weak while you have the chance, right now to take the throw and throw back even harder? Do you not want to find the monsters who kill because they can?"_ I was stunned. My brain tried to push the figure away saying the pain was too much to bear. However, my heart said otherwise, the chance to be able to save all the people who needed to be saved and punish all the monsters who needed to be punished. And as a bonus, find the man who killed my mother. Well, I guess it's obvious who won the argument.

"Yes… I want the power." I said softly but the figure heard me and as I stood up to meet his eyes, I noticed that he wasn't as tall as I thought he was, in fact, we were almost the same height.

" _Are you sure?"_

"I have been weak for my entire life. My friends think it (if I ever had any), the adults think it, hell, and even my own father thinks it. I will not allow anyone to suffer as I. I will not allow the scum of the earth destroy people's lives any longer, not when I have a chance like this!" I shouted, putting all my heart and emotion into my statement. I couldn't see it, but I could feel the figure was taken aback as he turned and began to walk away.

" _Then you shall have what you want."_ Said the figure. Suddenly, the white around the corners of the space began to fade, the darkness creeping up on me from all corners, fast. The spiderlike shadows passed harmlessly through the figure, but when it reached me, it began to latch on to my body, first my legs, then my body. I struggled against the tenebrous webs but I couldn't move. I started shouting for help, but my voice seemed to catch in my throat and finally I couldn't speak or move. My eyes widened in terror as I felt the shadows envelop me, covering every inch until it was about to cover my eyes when something strange happened. I saw the figure's glowing slits disappear for a moment, apparently it was wearing a mask and decided to take it off, and in the instant before I completely lost consciousness, I could have sworn I saw myself.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: What The Hell Just Happened?

 _Hiccup's Front Yard_

 _Hiccup POV._

 _Uhhh, wha-? Where? Where am I?_ I groaned mentally, standing upright, holding onto fistfulls of grass so that I wouldn't stumble over my dizzyness. I looked around, squinting to try and make out my surroundings. My eyes felt like they were on fire and I could feel the tears run down my cheeks and the entire world was a giant blur of nothing and vague shapes. The only thing I could tell was that it was late afternoon and I was in someone's yard. I clutched my head as a wave of vertigo hit me and I sat down on the grass and closed my eyes tight. Suddenly, the pain lifted and I slowly opened my eyes, blinking away the shapes and blobs until my vision began to clear. When I could finally see, I noticed that I wasn't in just anyone's yard, I was in my yard. My house stood before me, an odd glow about it from the streetlights and maybe some fear-induced hallucinations from my encounter earlier with the… metahuman. My eyes immediately widened at the rememberance of the events earlier today as I checked my watch.

"9:23" I said in shock. School ended at 3:30 and the walk home usually took 15 to 20 minutes and I was about a quarter way home when I passed the alley, therefore I've been passed out on my lawn for almost six hours. But that wasn't the only thing. By this time it should be near pitch black, but I could see perfectly, with or without the streetlights.

 _Wha-? What is happening? Why is it so bright at 9 P.M? More importantly, I was just laying here for six hours and no one bothered to check if I was alive? And what about da- oh wait…"_ My train of thought instantly brought up the question why dad hadn't noticed me lying on the front lawn, then I realized, he hasn't come back yet. It's actually a pretty normal occurrence, especially when a big case like another gang-related murder or metahuman sighting. He loves those stuff as he's convinced mom's death was a gang related crime commited by a contractor metahuman. Typical dad. I took a experimental stand and when the vertigo didn't come, I hobbled over to the door and went inside, my thoughts returning to the alley metahuman.

 _That was a metahuman wasn't it? Well I don't know any_ normal _humans who shoot pixels out of their hands so… Oh great, I'm being sarcastic to myself. But that's impossible, aside from some of the rogue_ _vigilante_ _superheros/villans and even those guys are rare._ I ran my thoughts through every superhero and villain I could remember (which were a lot) but none of them matched whoever I saw in that alleyway. I was walking through the kitchen, still thinking about the alley metahuman when suddenly I felt a cold feeling envelop me. The feeling gave me goosebumps and I turned around to see what gave me that sudden chill, my eyes widened is both surprise and disbelief.

"M-Mom?!" I exclaimed, stepping back a few steps. There she was, my mother, as happy as I remember her seven years ago, smiling and happy, looking down on the kitchen with her favorite apron with the little dragons on it and holding cooking knife like she was about to cook dinner. For the first two seconds, I thought she was a ghost, however when she didn't take her eyes off the kitchen and generally didn't move at all, I relaxed and took a small step towards her. Now that I got a really good look at her, she seemed to be just like smoke. I slowly circled her, trying to asses whatever this 'apperition' was, when I tripped on myself and I touched her. Suddenly her eyes flashed to life and she started moving. Her kitchen knife started cutting a ghostly carrot on the kitchen table and she started humming a song. Her song. I stood up straight, my eyes closed in a peacefull bliss. It's been years since I last heard that song and it died with my mother in that alleyway. As I sat there humming the song with her, out of nowhere, another cold feeling passed through me. My eyes shot open and again I was shocked. My father, in the same ghostly form as my mother passed right by me and held my mother from behind and started humming the same song. It was a scene I haven't seen in ages, my dad and mom, together and loving each other once more. They started talking, but their voices were muffled and I couldn't hear anything, only see their mouths move to an incoherent conversation. I could feel my eyes beginning to form some tears as I saw my dad swoop my mom into his arms and give her a kiss, the final kiss he'd ever give her. I rubbed my eyes as the ghosts of the past dissapeared, leaving me alone in the kitchen.

"What the hell just happened?"I asked myself looking at the spot where my mom's ghostly image reset, showing her frozen in place, holding the knife above the magically reconstructed carrot. I reached out to her ghost and the scene from earlier played once more, like an old video recording that wouldn't go away. My brain tried processing possible reasons what caused this when I realized, it wasn't what caused this, but _who._

"The alley metahuman! He must've done something to me earlier. I have to find him, he can tell me what's happening." I said. I was about to rush out the door when suddenly a bout of dizziness, similar to the one that hit me when I woke up in the front yard washed over me and I fell over, grabbing a chair before I hit the floor. "Ok, maybe I can do my manhunt hunt after school."

I pulled myself together and trudged up the stairs where I didn't even bother to change or bathe, I just plopped down on the bed and passed out almost instantly into a dreamless sleep, my last thoughts being the metahuman and my mom's song.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Morning, Hiccup's House_

 _Hiccup POV._

I woke up with a jolt and a weird feeling in the back of my head as my arm automatically shot out from beside me and slammed my alarm clock, just as the first chime of the alarm rang through my room. Strange, I've never woken up before my alarm before. Well, another question left to be answered later. I sat up, feeling much better than yesterday, though still a bit woozy from what happened. Actually, scratch that, I feel amazing, like I could lift an elephant and punch a shark (I don't condone animal cruelty it's just an expression).

I sat upright and almost leaped off my bed with how energetic I was feeling and I leaped to the bathroom, and was about to jump into the shower when I turned my head to the sink mirror and my eyes widened. Now, quick note, I am probably the scrawniest fishbone to come into existance and when I wake up one morning looking better than ever and see myself in the mirror with _abs_ , something is definately wrong. My normal skinny body was rippling with muscles, not enough to make me a lumbering oaf like Snotlout, but enough that there was a visible change to my height or outline. My malnourished-looking body was changed to that of a "muscled skinny guy" type figure, with my once freckled baby face now seemingly more manly and handsome, well, at least to me. I was frozen in shock, which lasted about two seconds, and then started flexing. It was an enjoyable spectacle, me, the fisbone who barely looked like he could break a twig, now looked like he could bend steel bars. As I continued admiring myself, the burning question raged in my mind: what the hell is happening? I was about to delve deeper into thought when the corner of my eye caught the clock at my bedside. I was going to be late for school! 

"Oh crap, not again!" I shouted. Altered physical appearance aside, I speedily washed myself and changed before grabbing my glasses and slapping them on. That's when the weird things started. My eyes are supposed to (key word: supposed) have a grade of at least 120 making me as blind as a bat without my glasses. However, when I put on my glasses, my vision was just as terrible as it was without glasses, then I took them off and my vision suddenly was clear. On eyes, off eyes, on eyes, off eyes the glasses went and finally I realised that I don't need my glasses. I threw them on my bed, grabbed my schoolbag and ran out the door. As usual dad left early and just made a small sandwich for me with a note, but I just took the sandwich, left the note and ran out the door so that I wouldn't miss the bus a second time.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Timeskip, School_

 _Hiccup POV._

Holy crap that was amazing! I ran like a damn marathon runner for the bus, and I didn't even break a sweat! My loose shirt and baggy pants hid most of the physical changes that I found this morning, however people still saw something was different as normally the people who'd ignore my very existance were suddenly giving me strange side glances and people were going out of their way to avoid me. Today is starting to become a weird day. Maybe it was my glasses?

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a freaky tingling appeared at the back of my head and I instinctively dropped to the floor as a big, meaty fist slammed into the lockers above me. I crawled away and turned to face my attacker, only to find the one person I'd rather not be noticed by.

"I missed you yesterday Useless, care to make up for lost time?" asked Snotlout, cracking his knuckles and grinning like an idiot. Great, and here I thought this would be a great day. The gods hate me.

"Snotlout. Isn't it too early in the morning for this? I really have to get to class now and I'm in a very good mood today." I said, getting up and slowly crawling away, but not before I bump into the twins as their sadistic smiles push me into the lockers. My back against the wall and three sadistic bullies surrounding me, I cold only comprehend the crowd beginning to form around us, mumuring and whispers spoken all around me.

"He's so dead… My money is on Stuart… Not gonna get out of this one…" And the crowd went on something like that.

"This is for yesterday fishbone!" shouted Snotlout as he threw his fist directly at my face. I half expected to be coming to class with a brused eye amongst other injuries, but something inside me, something I've never felt before just burst like a bomb and I felt the tingling sensation once more and, at the last second, dodged Snotlout's hand, making it slam into the lockers about a centimeter away from my face. He screamed in pain and withdrew his hand, holding it like it was on fire, which it probably was, metaphorically of course.

"Why you little-!" he shouted.

"Well, you probably shouldn't have swung your meaty fist at me with the _steel_ lockers at my back and not expect me to dodge." I quipped and I could hear mild chuckling from around the crowd. Snotlout looked left and right and then back at me, pure fury in his eyes and I laughed nervously. "Hehehe, maybe I shouldn't have said that."

"YOU'RE DEAD!" shouted Snotlout, twisting his good hand for a hook to my face.

Jeez, you think he'd learn. I waited for a split second, just as an experiment, and soon enough, the tingling sensation came. Whatever that tingling sensation is, it probably has something to do with the recent "changes" I've been experiencing. Hmm, maybe I should discuss this with myself after I try not to get killed by an angry football jock. I ducked out of Snotlout's punch, which surprised both him and the crowd as I used his own momentum to push him into the lockers. He slammed into the metal door, an entire row of lockers rattling like christmas bells and before anyone could react, I bolted for class, and hopefully a teacher before Snotlout gathered his bearings and ordered his goons after me. On the outside, I looked like I was running scared (which I kind of was), but on the inside I've never felt so alive in my life. Waking up one day with a new body and an awesome "danger-sense", as I've dubbed it, and using said new abilities to humiliate Snotlout feels amazing. When I find that metahuman, I'll have to thank him or slap him. I looked back and saw the crowd shrinking in the distance of the hallway. I could see Snoltout barreling down the hallway and gaining on me, faster than I had anticipated. I treid to pick up the pace, but I just didn't have enough hallway and as I was nearing the end of the hall, I rounded the corner, only to see some really mean football jocks running up the stairs. My heart sank as I realized that there was no way out, when suddenly, my danger-sense rang through my head and before I could react, a pair of hands grabbed my shoulders and pulled me inside the janitor's closet. The unknown assailant threw me to the floor and shut the door to the closet, locking us both inside. I struggled a bit to get the cleaning supplies, and one surprisingly annoying mop out of my face and turned to face whoever one of Snotlout's thugs dragged me in here.

"Hey what's the big ideaaaaahahaha…" I started, but my words died in my mount as I saw the face of my savior, as well as her amazingly blue eyes. "Uhhh… hi! Umm, hi, hello A-Astrid!"

She grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and I could feel my face heat up at the proximity of our bodies, what with the crammed space of the janitor's closet and the way she was holding me, who wouldn't feel a bit… umm… bothered. As the tense seconds in the closet seemed to gravitate to something I had in a really weird dream once (I'd rather not talk about that), Astrid slapped her hand over my mouth and made a _shhh_ gesture.

"Did you get him?" I heard from outside the door. It was Snotlout's, and he was talking to the football apes that came up the stairs.

"No, he just, dissapeared!" said one of the jocks and I could feel Snotlout's anger from inside the closet.

"Gah, he must've slipped past you guys, and I thought your were Berk Viking material! C'mon, before he reaches a teacher!" With that, the thundering steps of Snotlout and the rest of the jocks thundered away and Astrid finally let go of my mouth and the words I had earlier died in my mouth as her eyes stared at me intensley.

"Do you have a death wish or something?" she asked.

"No, I just love basking in the popularity I have gained over the years." I said sarcastically, trying to cover up the immense embarrasment that I was in a dark closet with the girl I've had a crush on for as long as I can remember.

"Gods, your sarcasm will get you killed one day." She said. Slowly, Astrid unlocked the door and peeked out of the closet and when she found the hallways clear, she led me out of the closet and escorted me to homeroom. As for me, my head was the color of a strawberry and a burning question at the front of my mind.

"Umm, thanks for earlier." I muttered, but Astrid seemed to have heard me because she turned around to face me.

"You really should watch yourself Hakon. One day this infamous sarcasm of yours is going to get yourself hurt, maybe worse." She said, turning around and starting off, but not before adding: "And you're welcome."

I could feel butterflies in my stomach as she led me to homeroom, just as the bell rang. We entered the classroom and Astrid sat down in her desk at the front row of the class and I, as usual, slunk to the very back corner of the room, and the rest of the day flew by as normal, at least until school ended, where a lot of dumb decisions and idiotic ideas would be created, down at Hellheim's Gate.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	3. Chapter 3

**Note: I made a mistake earlier, Stoic isn't a Commisioner, he's a** **lieutenant.**

Chapter 3: Found You

 _Hellheim's Gate_

 _Hiccup POV._

I flipped up my hoodie and tried to look as unassuming as possible. I passed through this route for most of my life, but this place is smeared with criminals, scum and gang bases for the numerous crime families and organizations, the Deserted Outcasts, the Berzerker Tribe, the Dragons of Helheim's Gate and other such organized crime cells litter the streets with their path of injustice and death. Especially on Tuesdays. My father believes that they had something to do with my mother's death, hence the obsession with bringing down all forms of organized crime in the city and the neglect of his only son. If the police itself weren't on the the crime bosses' payroll, he might have already cleaned up the streets years ago.

After a very long and paranoid filled walk, I finally reached Hellheim's Gate. It was like nothing every happened, the pixaleted stains on the brick walls were gone, but there were a few craters left in their wake. I looked around the alley and my eyes widened at what stood in the middle of everything. A glowing silhouette, like the one of my mother at home, was stainding in the middle of the alleyway, however this time it was of the metahuman from yesterday, standing in place, pixelated energy glowing at his fingertips. I took an experimental step closer and walked around the metahuman's still form. I looked around, just to be safe, in case anyone else could see this ghostly image, however when I was sure that no one would be around, I did what I did with my mother's sillhouette at home and touched the image.

Like yesterday, the metahuman is standing over the guy with the gun on the floor and the man on the floor is talking and the metahuman is trying to back away. Guy pulls a gun with a shaking hand, points it at the metahuman. He then suddenly turns around and the gun goes off. I look at the direction of the bullet and see me hiding behind a dumpster. I panicked for a half a second and everything slowed down. The ghosts of yesterday slowed to a crawl, so slow I could see the bullet flying through the air. I widened my eyes for just a moment and then had an idea. I thought about speeding the ghost bullet up and the entire scene continued a bit faster. I fast forwarded it until I saw the metahuman scream and fire a glowing pixel blast at me as well. I saw both shots impact me square in the chest and I saw myself fly back and hit my head on a wall, going out cold. I stopped the image because of two questions, why am I still alive, and I saw something weird. I gave it a thought, and the entire scene rewinded and stopped just before the blast and the bullet impacted me. Upon, closer inspection, I gasped in surprise as I saw the blast from the metahuman melt the bullet halfway before impacting my chest and when the blast from the metahuman hit me, I only saw a slight singe in my clothing and nothing else.

"The metahuman… he saved me?" I exclaimed. For years the world was taught to fear metahumans, they have been outlawed and attempted to be out breeded from the world, so a metahuman saving a normal human is pretty unheard of. I snapped out of my entrancement and looked back to the metahuman and the man on the floor with a whole new outlook. I continued the image further, past the part of me getting shot. I saw the man on the floor's eyes widen in shock before a pixelated frying pan smashed him on the head. He was knocked out on the spot and fell over like a ragdoll. He looked exhausted, but nonetheless ok. He turned to leave but stopped and turned to face my prone form. I felt my heart race as he walked over to my ghost and put his hand to my neck, most likely to check my pulse. When he knew that I was alive, he let out a sigh of relief then turned me over and reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet. I eyes widened as he looked into my wallet and looked left and right before pulling out a couple of ten's. I panickedly looked into my wallet and sure enough, missing about thirty in cash.

 _Well that's just great._ I thought, but I'd fix this problem later. I returned my attention to the ghosts where I saw the metahuman take out my ID. I thought he was going to pull an identity theft on me but when I saw my wallet (now) still had my ID, I breathed a sigh of relief. The metahuman took a look at my ID and I saw him mumble some words. I paused the ghosts and saw that he was looking at the part with my address on it. He put the ID and the wallet back in my pants and hoisted me up on his shoulders. I could see he was struggling, he wasn't that big, but he managed to carry me onto the sidewalk and I could see he hailed a taxi from the ghostly afterimage of a car door appeared and moved off out of the alley and the images stopped.

I was quite shocked, that a metahuman, most likely on the run and hunted by countless normals would go out of the way to save some dumb kid at the wrong place at the wrong time. However those thought's had to be put on hold, mainly because of two things, one, this little show gave me no leads whatsoever as to where the metahuman went, and two, my danger sense suddenly flared like police sirens and I heard the sound of a gun being cocked. I whipped my head around, in time to see a dirty looking guy in a black beanie point a rather small looking revolver.

"Put yer ands' up boy and and' over yer wallet. I ain't playin' around!" said the mugger. Great, second time this week I come to this wretched place and already a guy points a gun at me to steal what little money I have left. He tried not to show it, but I could see he was nervous, his gun was shaking, his eyes were on me, but they darted around from time to time, scared that someone might see him. I could feel the tension between us and if I didn't do something fast, I might actually be shot, no metahuman here to save my life.

Wait… there _is_ a metahuman here. And it's me. I thought it was insane, me, Hiccup the Useless, taking down a man with a gun. But the more I thought about it, the less crazy it sounded.

"Ey' dyda hear me boy! I said and' over yer' wallet or ye'll be chewin' gum thru yer' forehead!" Shouted the mugger, raising his gun higher. I had only a few seconds to do this so if I screwed up I'd get a nole blasted in me, but on the miniscule chance I suceeded, then I'd be extreemely grateful to that metahuman. I waited for the right moment, when the mugger's eyes started darting around. I looked at his eyes and half a second later, they darted to the right, the chance I've been waiting for. I ran for the mugger and he panickedly pulled the trigger. My danger sense blasted through my head and, I know it sounds crazy, but I could feel the direction of the bullet flying at me, like I could see where it was in the air and where it was going to impact, right on the left side of my stomach. I moved to the right and I heard the bullet _ping_ off a dumpster, but I ignored it and kept charging at the mugger. He fired off a few wild shots, four hitting the alley walls and two I had to dodge otherwise it might've hit me in the right lung or left leg. I finally made my way to just within arms reach and pointed the gun directly at my head. I flinched a bit as I saw his finger pull the trigger, but my danger-sense was quiet so I assumed only one thing: out of bullets. I pulled my fist back and looked deep into the mugger's eyes and saw something, an emotion. I should've felt disgusted, guilty with myself for enjoying this particular emotion radiating off another person, but instead I only felt satisfaction, empowerment. What was this emotion you ask, well it's obvious isn't it: it was fear, and I loved every second of it.

"Outta bullets bozo." I said, right before laying a right hook on him with all the strength I could muster. I thought it would take more hits before I could actually hurt him, but I was proved wrong when my fist made contact with his face and I could almost see his entire body pulse from the shock of my punch. He flew a few inches into the air and landed on the ground, out cold, eyes rolled back into his head and a fist-shaped bruise on his cheek. Frozen in shock, I looked at my hands and flexed my fingers, a new strength flowing through me. No words coming to me, I had only one thing that could sum up what I was feeling from when I woke up, to right now: "That. Was. Bad. Ass."

"Pfft!" I turned my head when I heard someone. I looked in the direction of the sound, behind one of the dumpsters, I could see a mop of black hair, or at least a part of it, sticking out of the side of the dumpster. I saw the hair move and the person peek out of the side of the dumpster and both of our eyes widened in shock.

 _I found you metahuman._ I thought as the metahuman slowly crept out of his hiding place. He was just as I remembered him, unkept black hair, pale skin, tattered black hoodie, ripped jeans, and fearful green eyes. "Hey."

The moment the words came out of my mouth, the metahuman broke off into a run. I groaned and took off after him.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Timeskip, Industrial Warehouse_

 _Hiccup POV._

We ran for several blocks and the metahuman started looking very tired, I could've ran more, but even I was getting a bit winded. After all the running, running through streets, alleys, throwing projectiles at me, the metahuman finally turned into an open warehouse door. I turned to follow but as I came closer, my danger-sense started tingling and out of nowhere, the doors to the warehouse came from the sides and the opening suddenly got smaller and smaller. I sucked in my gut, closed my eyes and jumped. I turned sideways in midair and I could feel the edges of the door bursh my back and my chest before I landed on the cold warehouse floor. I blinked a bit, adjusting to the dim light of the warehouse, but it was easier with my new nightvision from my metahuman powers. I looked around the warehouse and I concluded that I was in, in a manner of speaking, the metahuman's home.

I say a manner of speaking because it looked more like the server room of the BCPD than an actual home. There were dozens of hardware scattered around the warehouse, but all of them were connected by tangled wires of all shapes and sizes to a chair and an array of computer monitors of all shapes and sizes, all collectively placed next to a sheet draped over something, something large. But I didn't have time to admire the tech or the secret covered over by a tarp, I had to find the metahuman, fast. If this was his home, he's got home-court advantage, and a lifetime of experience using his powers, while I only have about ten hours. Was about to start searching when my danger-sense started blasting like sirens in my brain. I did a duck and roll forward, just as a glowing pixel cage came down on where I was a moment ago. I looked up and saw the metahuman running across a catwalk above me. I hadn't a moment to lose as I ran for the cage and used it as a foot hold to jump onto a few disgarded crates, on the wall and onto the catwalk, just as the glowing cage dissapeared. I didn't have time to admire myself as I took off after the metahuman. I could see him glance behind to look at me with wide, scared eyes. He kept staring and running, trying to see how much distance was between me and him, but with his eyes trained on me, the couldn't see the part where a big chunk of catwalk was broken off from the rest.

"Look out!" I shouted. The metahuman whipped his head forward, just in time to stop running. But it wasn't enough as the momentum from running and the overall reaction time made him lose balance and go over the end of the catwalk. I ran as fast as my legs could move to the end of the catwalk where I mentally sighed in relief as the metahuman didn't fall to his death (or broken bone induced hospitalization), but was hanging onto the end of the catwalk. I dropped to the ground, sliding the rest of the way, and just as the metahuman's grip gave, I was there to grab his hand.

"Hang on!" I slowly stood, pulling up the metahuman. It didn't take long, with my new strength and the metahuman's surprisingly light frame, I was able to pull him onto the safety of the catwalk. I fell back in exhaustion and so did the metahuman, but a few seconds of peace passed then the metahuman started glancing left and right, most likely trying to find a way to escape without jumping off the catwalk.

"Woah, hey! Don't be so panicky, I just wanna talk!" I said, raising my hands in an attempt at a truce, but it seemed to have little meaning to him.

"Yeah, I've heard that before. Are ya sure ya don't just wanna beat me up like that dumbass monkey in the alley." I could hear the sarcasm driping from his voice as he spoke.

"No, seriously, I just wanna ask you some questions." I said defensively and the metahuman continued to look at me skeptically. "Fine, let's just start this on a friendlier note. Hello, my name is Hakon Haddock III, what's yours?"

The metahuman seemed hesitant for a moment as he opened his mouth to reply but closed it again, the words dying in his mouth. He looked contemplative and then he looked back at me and said:

"My name is… Toothless."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Choice

 _Industrial Warehouse_

 _Hiccup POV._

Using Toothless' power, he was able to make a construct of a flight of stairs to get us off the catwalk. He seemed to trust his ability wholly as he didn't hesitate to take the first step. Me on the other hand, I was a bit more conservative as I had to throw a rusted piece of pipe on one of the steps to see if it was solid before trying my luck at going down.

"So, is Toothless you're real name?" I asked, trying to break some of the silence. Toothless stopped for a moment, but continued on to the bottom of the stairs.

"No, of course it's not." He said, waving his hand in the air. As soon as he did, my danger sense went off and the stairs beneath me dissapeared like it was never even there. I was lucky that I jumped off before it happened and was able to jump on a box and onto the ground. "I'm not stupid enough to tell another guy my real name if I can help it."

I glared at Toothless for his obvious and rather blatant dislike for me, but I let that slide as I needed him to help me understand what is happening to me. He led me past the server pillar thingies (I have no idea what their called) and to a six monitor computer set. Here, he promptly sat down on a black office chair, leaning back on the backrest and casually spinning around.

"So, whaddya want Hakon?" he asked, crossing his legs.

"I-I wanna know what you did to me." I said and Toothless raised his eyebrow.

"Did to you? I didn't do nothin' to you. Oh gods above, if you're one of those idiots who believe in the 'meta-plague', I am going to smack you in the head." He replied, raising his hand and materializing a giant pixelated hand.

"No, no! It's not that. It's just, after you saved me back at that alley, things have been… changing." Toothless deconstructed his pixel-hand and looked at me in bewilderment.

"Changing? And your definition of changing is…?"

"I-I've been getting… powers. I can see danger before it happens, I can see some sort of ghosts of people's past, hell, I have _abs_!" I shouted, lifting my shirt and displaying my newly gained muscle mass. He put his hands in front of hos face in alarm and I flushed at my moment of passion and threw my shirt down in embarrassment.

"Okay, I did not need to see that. I assume none of this has happened before?" He assessed, folding his hands together like a therapist would interview a patient.

"No, I didn't test positive for the meta-gene if that's what you're asking. This only started the day after you shot me in the chest." I said. Toothless didn't look at all convinced that it was his fault. Then he sighed and flipped his hand. Suddenly, all the blank monitors and powered down servers blasted to life and nearly blinded me with light. I rubbed my eyes to get the spots out before looking at the monitors in awe.

"How did you…?" I asked and Toothless groaned.

"It's technology manipulation numb nuts; I'm essentially a living supercomputer. I have omnipotent control over anything data whether it's in or out of a computer." And to prove his point, without looking back at me, Toothless raised his hand and gave me the bird with a big pixaleted finger.

"Ass." I muttered. I went over to the computer screens and saw a layout of the human body with different labels and areas highlighted, with a quite unnattractively angled picture of me.

"Umm, why do you have a picture of me?"

"It's you're full biometric scan. I scanned you as you were chasing me, trying to find a way to… umm… _avoid_ you." Replied Toothless suspiciously.

"So this is me?" I asked and Toothless sighed in exasperation.

"Yes, I thought we've been over this. This. Screen. Hakon." Toothless said, the last part as if he was talking to a toddler. I furrowed my brows in frustration, but I put away any negative emotions I currently held for the greater good of not punching Toothless in the face. Wow, when did I become so angry?

"So what does it all mean?" I asked and this time I finally got a (somewhat) serious response from the annoying technopath.

"Judging from you're statements about your so-called 'abilities' and this full body scan, I can accurately say you aren't lying about being a metahuman! Yay (note his sarcasm)." I opened my mouth to retort, however I was silenced with a raised hand from Toothless. "But I didn't do this to you. _Apparently,_ you've had the meta gene since… well… forever. Maybe a high stress traumatic event activated your power, that's normally how it works?"

My heart skipped a full beat as the event seven years ago came back in a wave of pain and grief. I clutched my chest to try and distract me from the pain and Toothless just stared at me like I grew an extra head.

"No, if it was a high stress event that gave me my powers, I'd have activated them years ago." I said, more ominously than I had intended as Toothless nudged his office chair slightly farther from me. 

"Oookay. Anyways, you probably were a late bloomer or something. See, I knew a guy once whowas in a car crash and didn't get his powers untill a few months later. Maybe it's a deficiency in the host body's genetics?" pondered Toothless, looking almost interested.

"It doesn't matter." I said, snapping Toothless out of his trance. "I just neeed to know what happened to make me like this."

"I said I don't know _what_ or _how_ this happened, but I can tell you what your abilities are." I raised a brow in skepticism and Toothless groaned.

"Uhh, fine, don't believe me? Let's start with your thing where you can see stuff coming before it happens."

"Danger-sense." I interjected.

"Whatever. That's a stupid name by the way." I opened my mouth to snap back at him, but once again he cut me off with a raise of his hand. "Anyways, this is how your 'danger-sense' works:"

Toothless put his hands togetehr and pulled them apart. As he did this, the image of my body on the computer screen began to zoom in closer to my head where most of the areas were highlighted.

"You're metahuman gene has manifested mainly in your visual cortex, the area of your brain responsible for processing your sight. There are other parts of your brain that have been mutated, but your visual cortex that's the most changed. I'm guessing you've been experiencing changes in your vision?" I nodded in agreement and Toothless continued. "But that's not where your (stupidly named) danger-sense comes from. I just said all that crap to prove I'm smarter than you. So, danger-sense. Here, as demonstrated by the diagram above, is a big ass mutation stuck smack dab in the middle of your whole brain. This is the source of your metahuman powers; the mutation is connected to all the parts of your brain, affecting the parts of your body to produce metahuman genes to change you physically and mentally."

"And how am I being changed? Aside from the obvious of course." I said, worried that my meta-mutation wasn't done yet. I'd hate to grow an extra arm in the middle of english class.

"Well, you're not gonna grow extra limbs that's for sure." Thank the gods. "So aside from you're obvious physical changes, the scan shows that your memory retention has become more than photographic."

"Wait, I have a photographic memory?"

"Uh, yeah? I'm pretty sure your hearing hasn't been impared, because I just said that. You've got the memory retention of a steel trap, once you know something, you can remember it just like that." Toothless snapped his fingers and I tried testing my memory.

"So, say I wanna read a whole newspaper, I'll remember it all?"

"Word for word. Jeez, do you not get photographic memory? Well, yours is a little special. I had a friend once, similar power to yours. He fought these ninjas and memorized all of their moves and tactics to fight back and beat them all. And you know the best part? He couldn't even break a glass window before and after the fight he threw one of those idiots through a wall." Toothless reminiced, smiling to himself. But the happy memory soon faded as Toothless remembered I was still standing in front of him and he returned to his annoying smartass mode.

"So how can I fix this?" I asked and Toothless looked at me in outrage. And that's when I knew I had chosen to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

"Fix what? Oh I'm sorry, I forgot you humans are still racist assholes who think we metas are all just a bunch of ruthless freaks who don't deserve to exist!" Toothless roared in anger. I stepped back as my danger-sense started flaring and two pixelated swords started materializing on either side of me.

"Ok, ok, wrong choice of words! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that!" I pleaded, but Toothless wouldn't listen. He stood up from his chair and the two swords came flying right at me. I yelped as time seemed to slow down just as the blades came within a few feet of me. I dodged blade number one and it flew past my nose and broke on the ground. Blade number two, however, flew right past my back; I grabbed the hilt of the pixel sword and used the momentum to throw the sword back at Toothless. I wide eyed Toothless couldn't react fast enough and the sword hit him right on the shoulder, breaking instantly but causing a large enough distraction for me to get closer to him and grab him by the collar of his shirt.

"Look, it was my mistake. I did not mean to offend you." I said sternly, looking deep into Toothless' eyes.

"Screw you." He said, brows furrowed in anger. I could see the ferocity of his gaze and I matched it with my own, but a few seconds of an intense staredown and I resisted the urge to sock him in the face and just let go. 

"This is stupid. I won't hit you cause of one stupid misunderstanding." I said and Toothless adjusted his shirt and huffed in annoyance.

"Well I sure as hell wouldn't have hesitated to hit you." Responded Toothless and I wanted so badly to continue the argument, but I learned it would go nowhere so I left it as it was.

"Gah, I don't need this. And I don't need you. I'm leaving. Thanks for your help." I said sarcastically. I shoved my hands in my pockets and left the warehouse, unaware of the expression of anger on Toothless' face turning into regret.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Hiccup's Home_

 _Hiccup POV._

 _That asshole!_ I thought, flopping violently on my bed. It was late into the afternoon, so the sun still shone through my window, but Berk wasn't a very good place to be at any time of the day on account of all the crime and it being at least 18˚C. In the fall. Yeah, this city is on the ass end of the earth, but it's home. Huh, now that I think about it, this place hasn't been home in a long time, just somewhere my parents moved to from the more mainland areas. It's been ages since I've ever had the feeling of a home with a warm, loving family. My dad is gone most hours of the day and I only get to see him on Sundays or the rare moments where someone doesn't get killed on the streets or an back alley somewhere. Gods, this city hasn't been home to anyone.

I sat up from my position on the bed and my gaze shifted around my room. It wasn't big, it wasn't small, the room was just right for an angry and alone fourteen year old to be in. The only defining features of my room were the unnatural cleanliness of it all and the massive shelf of books on the side of my bed. I was extremely bored as I don't do the whole "social networking" thing and I don't even like browsing the internet. I mean, have you seen the weird stuff people do in that place? And don't even get me started on "fanfiction". Makes my skin crawl. So here I am, sitting in my room, sulking and bored out of my mind, so what do I do? I decide to rouse a few more memories from when I was actually happy.

I stand up and go over to the bookshelf I was talking about a while ago and ran my finger through the various titles there till I reached what I was looking for.

"Huh, _The Dragonrider_. Haven't seen this since the time mom and dad still told me bedtime stories." I mused, pulling out the hazy memories of my mom and dad, sitting on either side of me, my eyes going droopy as my mother's soothing voice reciting the book. I cracked open the book to page one and began reading.

 _Read in Valka's voice:_

"In the old days, when the lands that are now Berk was still but a small fishing village, was a peaceful time, where men called Vikings were simply living their lives. This was until one day, a new form of life made itself known to the Vikings. It was rumored these beings had roamed the lands long before the first Vikings existed and that they had went into a deep slumber for ages. These beings wer called: Dragons.

These dragons took all manner of forms, from great winged beasts who ruled the skies, or deep sea dwelling creatures who had not seen the light of the sun for their entire lives. However dispite their differences, Dragons and humans were not all that different: they thought, they felt, they were good, and they were also bad. The good dragons had no problems with the Vikings and thought they were to be left alone. However the bad dragons did not share their good bretheren's views. The bad dragons saw the humans as invaders on sacred land and wanted the land for themselves. So the bad dragons enslaved the good dragons and waged war on the Vikings, the war lasting for hundreds of years with neither side winning.

This was until one day, a hero whose name has been lost to history, changed everything. This hero wasn't anything special, he was small, weak and generally nothing more than a stick with legs. But he had something that no other Viking of that time posessed: the ability to understand others, even those not of his species. This hero befriended the most dangerous and frightening dragon of them all: the Night Fury. The alliance between hero and dragon changed the entire course of the war; he spread his teachings so every man and every dragon that was able and willing formed friendships and alliances together, ending the war and beginning a new age of peace for both man and dragon."

 _Back to Hiccup_

I shut the book and placed it on my bed. Every child on Berk knew the story of the hero and the Night Fury and their adventures facing off more dragons, warlords and even the roman empire. But to me, this meant more than just a simple bedtime story. It was a reminder of a time where I was happy, where the world was right, where my mother would stil tuck me in and kiss me goodnight, where my father was around more and wouldn't look at me like someone skimped the meat on his sandwich. That's what this book means to me.

But this city took all that away from me.

No, not the city, it's the trash that prey on the weak that I should blame. They're the ones who took it all from me, from everyone. They need to be removed from the system. Oh who am I kidding, I'm just a Hiccup. I don't have the resources and I don't have the ability to do any of that. All my life I've been put down a notch lower than everyone else, always one step behind, one arms-length away. I could never do anything right, I couldn't even find who killed my mother. I'm nobody…

Hold on a minute.

I am not a nobody anymore! I am a metahuman! I have powers and I have ability, and I am _not_ weak anymore! I stand up in a rush, confidence swelling up within me.

"I have the power." I said. That was when I made the decision that would change my life forever. I would clean up this city, use the power that was given to me to do whatever it takes. Whatever it takes to save the city and avenge those it has taken and to prevent others from falling as well. I needed to be this city's hero.

"For my mother."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Amateur

 _Hiccup's House_

 _Hiccup POV._

" _Boom! See here, my body will turn which will bring my arm right through…"_

Hear that? That's the sound of part four of a eight part video on the fighting style of Krav Maga. It's about 11:20 P.M. and I've been sustaining myself with sugar, about six cans of energy drinks and the dim lighting of my dad's computer. Why am I doing this you may ask? Well, I've been testing my ultra-photographic memory and so far I've memorized the moves of Muai Thai, Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Judo, and Parkour masters. Every single step, strike, block and dodge has been ingrained into my mind like a catchy song, one you'll never forget the rhythm and the lyrics to.

I can't believe I'm actually considering doing this. I know earlier I had this entire internal monologue, but the longer I sat on the idea, the crazier it sounded. But I still wen on and watched seven hours worth of martial arts lessons.

So now I've got the skills (I have a hole in the wall of my room to prove it), I've got the (dwindling) motivation, and I've even got a costume! Well, sort of a costume.

It was basically just a black, form fitting long sleeve exercise shirt, combat pants, parkour shoes, dark purple gloves (they ran out of black) and a ski mask that only covered my mouth. See, sort of a costume. I look like an idiot and I'm about 190 bucks poorer, but the costume was necessarry. No one would honestly take me seriously if they saw me as a kid and if I did manage to survive tonight, I'd rather not have angry gangsters braking down my door to kill me. Anonymity is a vigilante's best friend.

"Okay. Let's do this." I said, shutting down my dad's computer. I grabbed my ski mask and went out, on my way to the downtown area, a hotbed of illegal activites after dark.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Downtown_ _ **(Crusin' through the alley!)**_

 _No POV._

The night is dark and cold, the air is filled with the sounds of a busy nightlife in the downtown area of Berk. This time of night is supposed to be where crime is the most active. But that's about to change.

"Woah!" shouts a voice. A figure flies through the night sky, waving his arms madly as he jumped from one rooftop to the next, the parkour skills he had learnt earlier coming into use.

"This is amazing!" The figure, Hiccup, shouted as he keept running and jumping, roof to roof, over alleyways and under the odd water tower until a commotion on one of the fire escapes of a tenament building catches his attention.

"See, I told you guys, easy money!" said one man, probably in his late teens, climbing out one of the windows and onto the fire escape, holding a little lockbox that chimed and rattled every time it shook.

 _Thieves._ Thought Hiccup as he observed the first person who climbed out the window, Thief #1 meet with two others, all of them the same age, an hand them the lockbox.

"Hey man, are you sure this is okay? I mean, don't those guys need this cash?" asked one of the thieves, Thief #2, as he inspected the lockbox.

"Bro of course it's okay. Besides we need this cash too, how else are we gonna join up with the Reds?" replied the last thief, Thief #3 and the conflicted look on Thief #2's face dissapeared. Thief #2 now looked frustrated as he tried to pry open the lid. Hiccup looked on, absolutely furious.

 _How dare these guys steal from these poor people! Time to give them a little lesson on the consequences of their actions._ Thought Hiccup as he sprung into action. He jumps off the ledge of the roof overlooking the thieves and lands right in the middle of their discussion. The sudden landing and the surprise of the situation caused Thief #3, who was standing near the railing of the fire escape, to stumble back and fall over the edge.

"No!" exclaimed Hiccup, diving forward and catching Thief #3 by his leg, as his head hit the wall of the building, knocking him out. The other two thieves stumbled as well, but they were able to get over the initial shock and started to attack Hiccup. Hiccup's danger-sense rang like a bell, as Thief #1 prepared to kick Hiccup in the ribs. Reacting on instinct, Hiccup used his free hand to grab Thief #1's foot and pull, causing Thief #1 to loose his balance and fall towards Hiccup. Theif #1's head hit the railing behind him and put him out like a light. Thief #2, in retaliation, held the lockbox hard and prepared to smash Hicucp in the head. But Hiccup's danger-sense save him once again as Hiccup looked back at Thief #2 angrily and kicked him hard. Thief #2, with his hands in the air, couldn't block the sudden attack and it pushed Thief #2 through the window of the building, rendering him unconcious. Hiccup sighed in relief as he used both his hands to pull Thief #3 up before Hiccup's grip would loosen. As soon as Thief #3 was safe and sound on the fire escape, Hiccup sat down in exhaustion and looking upon the unconcious thieves said:

"That went well for my first night as a vigilante." Hiccup stood, confidence bolstered and done recovering his strength and was about to jump back on the roof of the building, when a disturbance on the street makes him stop and look.

"Stupid bitch! You're doin' it all wrong!" Shouted a (very ugly) man in a dark blue, pin striped suit violently holding the hair of a girl obviously way under the usual age of consent.

"But I d-did it like you said!" She pleaded, but the man in the suit, didn't seem to care.

 _Hmm, I'm going to assume that's a_ very _under age hooker and that's her very ugly pimp. Well, back to work._ Thought Hiccup, making his way down the fire escape and behind the pimp.

"Go on, get outta here! We'll talk about this later." Grumbled the pimp, as he threw the girl hard onto the sidewalk.

"Hey!" Shouted Hiccup. The pimp turned around to see who had the balls to talk to him like that.

"The hell ya want? If it's one o' these whores ya can have this one right ere'." Said the pimp, going over to the girl and picking her up by the hair. She cried out in agony and Hiccup balled his hands into fists and stared at the pimp with as much intensity as he could muster.

"Let. Her. Go." Hiccup threatened and the pimp raised an eyebrow.

"The fuck ya say to me? Ya know who I am? I'm a Dragon ya little shit." The pimp said, pulling out a butterfly knife and pointing it at Hiccup.

The Dragons of Hellheim's Gate, Berk City's most notorious and dangerous gang. Named after the infamous alleyway and once fabled home of the dragons, they started appearing around the early 2000's and in just three short years, they were able to take over nearly the entire criminal underworld. Rumors about the Dragons and their ranks swirl about every day, some say the amount of people who are under their control range from drug dealers to politicians. It is unknown how the gang is operated, the only known facts is that there are five main enforcers that manage gang's illegal activites and one main leader that the people call "The Red Death".

"Do I look like I care." Said Hiccup defiantly. The pimp's eyes twitched and Hiccup's danger-sense went off as the pimp lunged, intent on stabbing Hiccup.

 _This is almost too easy._ Thought Hiccup, sidestepping the, now dumbfounded pimp and disarming him by pulling the pimp's arm behind his back, causing him to drop his weapon.

"I'll admit, you almost got me. Not." Hiccup taunted and the pimp just grumbled in anger. However, Hiccup's eyes widened as his danger-sense began to warn him of incoming danger, and Hiccup was able to move his leg out of the way of a knife, held by the same hooker that Hiccup had rescued not moments ago.

"The hell was that for?! I just saved your ass!" exclaimed Hiccup, but the hooker just looked at him in irritation.

"Saved me?! You just beat up my boss you jackass! Hey everyone, this asshat just attacked Tony!" shouted the hooker and all eyes on the entire block turned to Hiccup.

"Ah crap." Swore Hiccup and the pimp, Tony, just chuckled.

"Yer in for it now dumbass!" he said and Hiccup glared at Tony as he threw him to the wall, putting the abusive pimp out cold. That's when one entire block of hookers, gamblers, drunks and other miscellaneous categories of people charged at Hiccup, with the intent of beating him senseless.

Hiccup's danger-sense came blasting from every direction and Hiccup began to struggle to keep avoiding all the imminent threats. Dodge. Strike. Dodge. Strike. Dodge. Strike.

The streetfight seemed to be stuck on a stalemate, that is until one lucky guy with a wooden plank was able to land a hit, disorienting Hiccup. This gave the other combatants an opening to pile up and start beating Hiccup to a bloody mess.

 _Crap, crap, crap, crap!_ Swore Hiccup as several blunt weapons impacted his body over and over again. Hiccup was lucky that his metahuman body numbed the pain a bit and shielded him from any lasting damage, it still hurt like hell though. The hits kept coming and coming until sirens began blaring in the distance. This distracted some of the attackers and gave Hiccup a chance to fight back. He punched out one of the attackers and began throwing and pummeling people off him until the police sirens stopped in front of the street brawl. Two officers sprang out from their police cruiser and leveled their weapons at the crowd.

"Everyone FREEZE!" shouted one of the officers and the entire crowd raised their hands and backed off. However Hiccup was still recuperating from his earlier situation. Hiccup originally intended to bolt, he couldn't afford to be caught by the police, especially with his dad as a lieutenant in the force. But without warning, Hiccup's danger-sense started buzzing and the world slowed to a crawl as Hiccup could see one of the officers, the one who shouted earlier, shoot his gun directly at Hiccup.

 _The hell?! I was still freezing!_ Screamed Hiccup mentally. Hiccup prepared to dodge the bullet, a sudden thought occurred to him which made him stop.

 _Crap, I can't dodge this. If I do, some poor sucker behind me's gonna take the blow for me. Well, guess I've got to take it like a man. Why do the gods hate me._ Hiccup sucked in a quick breath and let time run its course. You know the saying, "It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end"? That's what ran through Hiccup's mind as the force of the bullet impacted his shoulder and pushed Hiccup to the ground. As Hiccup lay there, a .38 centimeter hole in his shoulder and bleeding like an open water bottle, the two officers came over and looked at Hiccup's prone form.

"You didn't have to do that. He wasn't going for any weapons or something." One officer said, holstering his weapon. The other officer, the one who shot Hiccup, merley shrugged and said:

"He was going to. C'mon, let's get him in the car before drops dead on the street. An alleyway somewhere'll be much less suspicious." The other officer hoisted Hiccup up, a blinding pain erupting in Hiccup's arm as both officers pick him up and throw him into the back of the cruiser. The officers didn't bother with handcuffs as they didn't want to implicate any police presence in dumping Hiccup's soon to be dead body and drove off to find a place far away from the downtown area.

So now in a police cruiser, rapidly bleeding out, blinding pain coming from his shoulder and about to be thrown away like garbage by two corrupt officers, Hiccup's mind was on overdrive trying to think of ways out of this perilous predicament.

 _Ok, ok, ok, I've got to get out of here. Gods this was a terrible idea, I really should've borrowed some equipment from Gobber._ Hiccup thought, a plan forming at the back of his mind. A very bad and dangerous plan that was probably best made when not under the influence of major blood loss. Hiccup slowly got up, trying to move without making his injury even worse. And then, to the alarm of both officers, Hiccup suddenly shot forward, grabbing the wheel of the cruiser and jerking left, flipping the cruiser over and launching it in the path of an oncoming fuel truck. The truck swerved to avoid the cruiser, but it wasn't enough as the truck flipped itself over, sliding across the ground and both the cruiser and the truck impacted each other. Hiccup was thrown to the back seat and the two officers were hit by their air bags and thrown to the side of their car, knocking them out. Hiccup, on the other hand, felt like he was hit by a truck (which he kind of was) as he pulled himself out of the cruiser, in time to see the engine of the cruiser begin burning, igniting the fuel the truck was carrying, turning the surrounding area into a blaze. Hiccup looked to the fire, intent on leaving before the cruiser's fuel tank ignited, only to look back at the two officers who shot and tried to get rid of him.

 _Scum, maybe. But even scum have family._ Thought Hiccup. He used the last of his strength to pull the two officers out of the car and depositing them on the sidewalk before an explosion broke through the night. Hiccup stared into the fires that would have consumed him, contemplating the danger that he had just put himself through. Shaking off the initial shock, Hiccup shuffled away, trying to stop the blood seeping out of his shoulder.

He only got about two blocks before passing out on the sidewalk.

 **XXXXXXXXXXX**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: BCPD

 _BCPD Police Department_

 _Stoic POV. (Note, this is at the same time Hiccup woke up for school in chapter 2)_

One hour. One gods awful hour. That's what driving from home to work is like in this hellhole of a city. I'd move, but Valka always thought that house was in the perfect spot, away from all the hustle and bustle of the city and in its own little world. And there's so many memories of her that I'm just not ready to let go.

 _Maybe if we had moved to an apartment closer to work Valka wouldn't have…_ I thought, guilt beginning to well up in my chest. But I dispelled the thought before it finished. I'll not have guilt cloud my judgement, especially in my line of work. If anything were to happen to me Hiccup'd be all alone.

 _Valka would probably throttle me out of valhalla if I let that happen._ I thought as I pulled into the underground parking lot of the BCPD main department. It's right at the heart of the city, where the crime is bad and the corruption even worse, the only good cops in the town are the rookies and the occasional good apple in the force. The rest are probably paid off or blackmailed into protecting the bad guys on the street. Proof of corruption dissapears like sand in a tornado; bad cops protecting even badder cops and the good ones forced into submission. Today is one such case as after my last stunt the "good comissioner" Walter "Old Wrinkly" Davis just saddled me up with a new partner and probably the dirtiest cop in the whole organization.

" _Lieutenant Stephen Haddock. Why am I not surprised. Remember Haddock, we are a team. And a team, any team, needs to play together in order to win, don't you think? Yes it does. Your record shows you've got what it takes, but you lack the proper… influence."_

I threw the doors to the main offices open and I was met with a grinning face that just screamed "punch me".

"Lieutenant Haddock I presume? Detective Marcus Mendoza, but you can call me…"

 _Mogadon the Meathead._ I finished in my head. Mogadon is probably the dirtiest cop on the force. He'll take any form of bribery and do any sort of work from turning a blind eye to paying a few "visits" as the friendly neighborhood mob enforcer. Of course no one can pin anything on him, so on paper he's just you're average detective.

Mogadon held out his hand for me to shake, and I took it.

 _Firm grip._ I thought. Okay, "firm" is a bit of an understatement. He had the grip of a crusher in a trash truck and he looked like one too. We let go of each other's hands and

"You feel like goin' out on patrol Stevie, can I call you Stevie?" asked Mogadon. I contemplated on saying no, but I needed to get to know my new partner a bit better, and I haven't been able to do much after Old Wrinkly put me on desk duty for the last few days.

"Fine. And you don't call me 'Stevie'." I replied, trying to show as little emotion as possible.

"Sure thing Stevie." Mogadon led the way, shoving past me back out the door to the parking lot. I followed as we got into his car, a brown sedan with a little siren on the roof. We both got in, Mogadon behind the steering wheel and me in the passenger seat and took off to hit the streets.

 _Later, Downtown_

We drove on through the crowded streets of Berk City. It's a Tuesday afternoon and there's people bustling about. Mogadon doesn't drive fast, but he drives like he owns the streets, overtaking every single car that's in front of him and barely slowing down for pedestrians. I can only look in hidden anger as he nearly runs over a man and his son, only honking his horn and expecting _them_ to move faster.

"Hope you like your new assignment, the commisioner's a stand up guy, he knows where us cops need to be and with who so they can be the best for this city. And he'll be just as good to you as you are to him. A real stand up guy. Isn't that right Stevie?" Said Mogadon, a strong undertone of "kick in with the rest of us in the corruption circle". I narrowed my eyes when I knew that Mogadon would be focusing more on the road than on me.

"Yeah. Right." I growled, but Mogadon didn't seem to hear me as he had no reaction whatsoever. Suddenly, a troublesome look crossed his face and he abruptly hit the brakes on his car. I was lucky I was wearing my seatbelt as I lurched forward and back into the seat. I looked to see why we had stoped, praying to the gods that we didn't hit some poor sucker, but instead I looked to see a bunch of kids, probably around Hiccup's age, gathered around a street lamp. I raised an eyebrow at Mogadon, but he just grinned and unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door.

"Marcus!" I said, trying to inquire as to what he was doing, to which he responded by saying:

"Nothing I can't handle lieutenant."

I could only watch passively as Mogadon lumbered his way to the kids, singling out one kid in particular.

"Hey Jimmy, mother know you're here?" Asked Mogadon and all the kids turned with looks of absolute fear on their faces. The one kid, Jimmy, turned to run, but Mogadon grabbed him by the shirt jacket and lifted him in the air. I stepped out of the car, intent on charging in and stopping whatever was about to happen, but reason won over instinct and I sat back and watched as Mogadon threw Jimmy into a nearby dumpster and proceded to beat him with his bare hands.

 _He knows how to punch. How to use his size too. I'd say green beret. Don't do a damn thing Stephen, just be sure of your facts before you bring him down. Just watch him. Memorize every move, for futer reference._ I had to continually remind myself to stand by and watch as Mogadon beat Jimmy till his face was just a bunch of bruises. I watched in agony as Mogadon threw Jimmy into an open dumpster and shut the lid. Hard. I could only imagine how angry I looked as Mogadon, with his annoyingly smug grin sauntered back to the car, plopping back into the driver's seat as if nothing happened.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked

"Had this little beauty on him." Justified Mogadon, throwing me, what looked like a collapsable knife. But upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be only a comb.

"It's a comb Marcus." I said and Mogadon just looked at me innocently.

"Hey I'm only human Stevie." He replied, turning the ignition on the car and driving off. I looked out the window to see the other kids pulling Jimmy out of the dumpster, laying him down as gently as possible on the cold concrete sidewalk.

 **XXXXXXXXXXX**

 _BCPD Police Department_

 _Stoic POV._

"… and he just beat him Gobber. Beat him like he was just a punching bag!" I said, recounting the patrol with Detective Mogadon to, probably one of the last good cops in the precinct.

"Tha's Mogadon for ye. I told ya Stoic ya shouldn't ave' tried bustin' Hoark for stealin' tha' cash from lockup." He said. Gordon Brand, also known as Gobber the Belch, my former partner and now keeper of our precious police armory. A few years ago me and Gobber were inseparable, that is until a dirty bomb seriously injured him and took both his hand and a leg. I was able to pull a few strings and got Gobber a job managing the armory. If a officer has a weapon, then Gobber's probably the one who let them have it. Anything bigger than a .38 Glock is under Gobbers very careful watch so in anyone tries to make a suspicious withrdrawal of tactical gear for "practice", then they'll have to get past Gobber. Its one of the first steps in ending corruption inside the force. It's a baby step, but a step nonetheless.

"It's my job to fight crime in the city Gobber, and I can't do that if my own coworkers are the criminals as well. I have a duty as…"

"As an officer of the force, I got ya. But Stoic, yer treadin' dangerous waters ere', Commish's already partnered you up with the wors' cop in history an' yer still ou' ta put im' behind bars." Gobber scolded, tapping his prosthetic hand on the bars of the armory window just to add emphasis to his statement.

"I can't stop Gobber. I need to make this place safer, to honor Valka and to ensure the safety of my son. There's no other way I can do any of that if I don't start somewhere." I said.

"Ya could always move?" remarked Gobber sarcastically and I narrowed my eyes and he chuckled.

"Hehehe, I'm only playin' Stoic. Bus since we're in the topic of family, ows' my little assistant doin'? He asn't come to work for a while an' I'm startin' ta feel a bit forgotten ere'." Gobber said. A few months ago I got Hiccup a small internship at the department to help Gobber keep inventory and maintain the weapons stored. It's not a full time job, so it isn't very uncommon for him not to come to work every other day.

"He's doin' fine Gobber." I lied. In fact, I haven't seen Hiccup in over a week. I've been so caught up with work and all the chaos I don't go home till after midnight, and leave early morning, just stopping to prepare some food for him. It's just hard being a single parent in this city and he's just too much like his mother for me to look at him and not have Valka's face resurface in my mind.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the police scanner Gobber keeps on his desk started going off.

" _All units, all units, we have a code 10-99, hostage situation. Escaped Trevor Mental Institution patient holding several children hostage in Davis St. Sergeant Malloy and S.W.A.T team 3 are enroute."_

"Wha-? Did she jus' say tha' Sergeant Madguts the Murderous is on is' way to a ostage situation?!" Said Gobber, but I couldn't hear his as I ran out of the department and bolted for my car. I couldn't on good concience let Madguts the Murderous and his gestapo handle a _hostage_ situation, it'll be a massacre. Last time S.W.A.T team 3 handled a college protest it ended with three dead kids, twelve injured and the rest choking on tear gas. Luckily the hostage situation was only about four or five blocks away so if I turn on the siren I'll make it before S.W.A.T.

 _Later_

A sturdy police line was set around a tenament building, where officers, bystanders and news crews could see and hear the ranting of a crazed man, shouting out of a window and holding a gun to a little girl's head.

"GET THE GOATS AWAY! SNOWFLAKES! THE DRAGON FIRE!" shouts the enraged man, shoving the gun harder and harder onto the little girl's head. The crazed man retreats away from the window, taking the girl with him. On ground level, a young cop was being given a verbal lashing by a team in full tactical gear.

"I don't care what the lieutenant says, we are going in!" Shouted one of the S.W.A.T team, a weasly little man everyone calls Boil shouts. Madguts is a man of few words so he has others speak for him.

"B-But the lieutenant…" stuttered a scared looking officer, but Madguts would have none of it as he just shoved past him and started for the building. Luckily, I was litterally a few feet away and driving at about 40 mph. I barreled through the barricade and skidded to a stop right in front of the entire team.

"Stand down Malloy! I'll take care of this." I barked. Madguts looked like he wanted to shoot me right then and there, but to kill an officer out in the open with hundreds of witnesses is something not even Madguts would try. I heard him grumble and grunt and Boil ordered the rest of the unit to stand down. I turned around to see the hostage taker staring down at me. I took out my sidearm, a revolver and placed it down on the ground, holding my hands up as I entered the building.

The building's already been evacuated, but I can't help feel that a thousand eyes are on me as I calmly walk up to the 2nd floor, where the hostage taker resided. I stopped in front of the door as the hostage taker holding up the little girl and jamming the gun into her head.

"Easy friend. I'm not here to hurt you." I said, calmly trying to de-escalate the situation, but I knew that it would do no good as this man was a mental patient off his meds.

"NO! SNAPTRAP CHOCOLATE! NO LUNCH, NO LUNCH!" he shouted

"Sure, we'll order take out buddy. No need to do anything rash." I said. The man's eyes started shifting back and forth, his hand shaking and he was sweating like a pig. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he turns the gun on me, which is the exact opportunity I've been waiting for. I disarm him, pushing the gun away from me, slamming his hand against the doorframe, knocking the gun out of his grip. I don't waste any time in laying one on him, rendering him unconcious. The girl he had hostage ran as soon as she could to the back of the room. My eyes followed her to see that there were several other children, all of whom looked scared to high heaven. I put on the softest expression I could, slowly going over to the kids, trying not to startle them as I reached for something in my pocket. They flinched as I did this and before they could run for it, I produced a pack of gum I carry around.

"Who wants some gum?"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **That was a little filler to introduce some characters and Stoic.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Frenemies

 _Industrial Warehouse_

 _Hiccup POV._

I woke up slowly and groggy. I felt like I was thrown into a blender with a box of pins.

 _Am I dead?_ I thought, but as I opened my eyes, I didn't see a blinding light or a chorus of angels, I only saw the rusted roof of an old industrial warehouse.

 _How the hell did I get here?_ I thought. Suddenly, the blurred memories of the night before came back in a flood and my gaze instinctively went to my shoulder, to find it, surprisingly, my shirt off and me all bandaged up.

"I'm alive?" I said out loud, not expecting a reply. So when someone did reply, I was both shocked and slightly annoyed.

"If by 'alive' you mean held together by strings and a touch of gauze, then yes, you're alive." Said a familiar voice. I groaned and turned to see Toothless leaning on one of his server boxes.

"You? You saved me?" I questioned skeptically and Toothless just rolled his eyes.

"Of course I saved you! Who else is gonna pick up the dying idiot on the street? The donut munching asshats you call the 'police'?" Toothless huffed indignantly. I bristled in anger, but as much as I love my dad, I agreed with him.

"How did you even find me?" I asked and Toothless rolled his eyes and flicked his hand towards him. Suddenly, my phone that I had in my pocket started vibrating, then a little glowing bug crawled out of my pocket. In panic, I swatted the strange creature away and it dissapeared in a little puff of data sparks.

"I bugged you. Ha, get it, it's a bug made of pixels." Toothless chuckled, but I didn't find the joke funny as he seemed to, as the implications of being bugged by a guy who has omnipotent conrol over all things technology dawned on me.

"I'm guessing that tracking where I was all day wasn't the only thing your little bug did?" I asked

"Wow, smart. You actually have a brain somewhere in that space you call a head. Yep, I know a lot about you know, Hakon Hadrian Haddock, son of Stephen Haddock, Lieutenant of the BCPD and the late Valerie Haddock, doctor of Bio-Organics." I inwardly cringed at the mention of my mother's name, but I hid my anger with a glare shot at Toothless' direction.

"You know my name. Great, good for you. Now if you'll excuse me, it's a Wednesday and I have to get to school." I said, sitting up on the table I was on.

"Actually it's Thursday afternoon." Responded Toothless nonchalantly and I sputtered in surprise.

"Wait what?! How the hell is it Thu-… I've been out for two days?!" I exclaimed.

"Well, actually it was more of one day and a whole morning, but two days is a pretty accurate assumption." Toothless said, but I wasn't listening as I darted my gaze around the room searching for my shirt, all the while muttering all the things I had to do so I wouldn't be murdered by the school administration.

"Crap, crap, crap. I need to email the principle, catch up on all my work, submit all my homework, then I have to make up so much bullshit to tell my teachers and…" I said, clutching my head in panic as I jumped off the table I was on, but Toothless shoved me back down before I could do anything.

"Relax, it's all taken care of. I used your dad's email to forge some excuses; apparently you've come down with a serious viral infection and the doctors recommend a whole week of rest away from human contact." Said Toothless

"Wha-What? Why would you…?" I started, but Toothless raised a hand to shush me.

"No, no, no. It's my turn to ask the questions this time. What the hell were you thinking?!" He shouted and I raised an eyebrow.

"Uhh, what?" I asked and Toothless facepalmed himself in exasperation.

"What the hell was going through your mind, jumping up and over buildings and taking on random thugs like a suicidal maniac? You came within an inch of your life and if I wasn't there to save you, you'd be another dead idiot laid out along the sidewalk." Scolded Toothless and I furrowed my eyebrows in anger.

"Well why the hell do you care?! In the few hours I've known you, you've been a sarcastic, temperamental asshole who doesn't understand the concept of politeness and kindness!" I retorted

"Because I am not in good concience going to let someone die on me again! Not when I have the chance to save them!" I was about to shout something back, but something that Toothless said had me thinking.

"Again? What do you mean someone die on you again?" I asked and a horrified look crossed Toothless' face and he turned around as soon as the look came to his face.

"Shut up." He muttered. I was tempted not to, but anyone could see that this was a touchy subject for Toothless as he was holding his arm and clenching his fist so hard that his knuckles were turning white, obviously to keep from crying.

"Toothless?" I asked. As much of a jerk Toothless had been to me, I couldn't help feel a little bad about bringing up such a painful memory. So I reached out to clasp his shoulder, but he just jerked away from me, going over to his office chair and slumping into the seat. I turned away as well, going off to find my shirt when Toothless suddenly broke the silence.

"To be honest, I don't even know why I saved you either." He admitted. I turned in confusion as he seemed to just stare into space, unknowingly thinking out loud.

"I guess that… this city has taken so much from me… from everyone really, that I'm not sure if I can handle knowing that more and more people are lost. That more lives are destroyed, more families are torn apart, it's just too much to handle." He said, resting his head on his hands. I walked over to him and held my hand out; I hesitated for a moment, in fear that he might lash out again, but I sucked up my anxiety and placed my hand on his shoulder. To my relief, he didn't react in any way, he flinched a bit, but that was it.

"I understand how you feel." I said and he turned to glare at me with puffy red eyes and remnants of a few tears crawling down his face.

"Liar." He said.

"No. Believe me, if anyone knows what you're feeling right now…" I replied with a pained expression.

"… I do."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Flashback, 7 Years Ago_

 _Hiccup POV._

Most people forget the things that happen to them when they're still children. But this moment, on this day, I'll never forget for the rest of my life. We had walked into an alleyway, a sort of shortcut so we would avoid most of the twists and turns to get to the bus stop so we could head home.

"Shortcut, shortcut, shortcut, shortcut…" I sang as I skipped along, holding my mother's hand as she smiled at me. I ran ahead, skipping and twirling around, completely unaware of a man dressed in a black trenchcoat standing in my way until I bumped into him. I looked up and saw him glare at me; I took a few steps back, bumping into my mother as she pulled me behind her.

The next few minutes were a blur of angry words and shouting from the man and calming, kind words from my mom. At the time, I had no idea what was going on, and I still don't, but what I did understand was the man pulling out a gun and raising it to her chest. My eyes widened in fear as the gun goes off and my mom suddenly jerks back. I watch as the blood splatters all over me and my mom lands hard on the ground, her cold eyes piercing my soul. I couldn't tear my eyes of her body as I dropped to my knees and the blood began pooling around her, soaking my legs in the crimson liquid. Even as I feel cold steel being pressed on my head do I flinch, still trying to process what was happening. As the hammer of the gun clicked back, I heard another scream from the other side of the alley and sounds of alarm from passing bystanders. I feel the gun move away from my head as the man swears and backs away, dissapearing into the darkness, leaving me and my mother as I continue to look in fear at her cold dead eyes.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Present Time_

 _Hiccup POV._

Toothless wipes whatever tears are still left in his eyes as he pushes himself off his chair.

"Well this is just fine and dandy. Two idiots in the ass end of the world crying like babies about people they've lost." Said Toothless, his sarcastic demeanor returning to him.

"But isn't that more of a reason to do something about it?" I asked and Toothless was about to reply, but this time I silenced him with a raise of my hand.

"Hey, that's my thing!" smirked Toothless and I smirked back.

"Listen, I've got no idea who or what you've lost in your past, but do you really want anyone else to go through what we've been through? Every day someone in this city breaks the law and spits on the name of justice. You're right, the cops won't do a thing about this, mainly cause most of them are criminals as well. We've got the power, we've got the motivation, we just need to start fighting." I said and Toothless chuckled, shaking his head.

"Hehe, did you just say 'in the name of justice'? That was the most cliché thing I've ever heard, heh, you really are an idiot." Said Toothless, but this time it didn't sound like an insult, it sounded more like friendly banter.

"It was in the heat of the moment, I wasn't really thinking my whole monologue through that well." I said, grinning and rubbing the back of my head. Toothless smiled back and soon enough we both were grinning.

"So… I guess that means friends?" Asked Toothless, holding his hand out in

"Hey hey hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves here; I think we can chalk it up to 'frenemies'." I said

"Asshat." Toothless laughed as I took his hand and shook it. And that was it, that was the start of our frienship and our adventures together as a dynamic duo.

"What time is it?" I asked out of nowhere. Toothless raised his eyebrow.

"Umm… 4:24, why?" he replied.

"I'm going back out there."

"What?! Umm, did we just have an emotional moment for nothing?!" exclaimed Toothless, pushing me in the shoulder.

"Ow, dammit! There's still a hole in my shoulder man!" I shouted

"No more hole moron, metahuman super healing, we've all got it." Replied Toothless and I felt around the bandages on my torso, only feeling signs of early scarring.

"But that's beside the point, I think we need to talk about throwing yourself in the line of fire again, and that isn't a metaphor."

"What? Are you gonna tell me not to do it?" I said, crossing my arms.

"On the contrary, I was gonna say you need more than an exercise shirt and a ski mask to stop bullets." Toothless smirked as he walked over to the side of his giant computer set to the tarp covered object at the corner of the room. He threw the tarp off the object and I could see a set of armor, broken and in disrepair on a pedestal **(think of the Arkham Knight's body armor, except more broken)**.

"Umm… that looks… broken." I said, no other words coming to mind.

"It looked better back in its hayday, but it's mostly kevlar and a bit of metal plating, but it's not completely bullet proof, you'll only have some protection from small rounds but anything about a .50 caliber round won't end well." Said Toothless, tapping the suit as I went closer to feel the material.

"How do you have something like this?" I asked, but I wasn't looking at him so I couldn't see the expression on Toothless' face darken a bit.

"It's a, uhh… hand-me-down." He replied.

"Can we fix it?" I asked, turning to face him just to see him shrug.

"Meh, won't be as durable as it was before, but I'll need a few things I don't have around here." He said.

"Ok, what do you need?"

"Well, maybe two or three kevlar vests." Toothless said and I raised an eyebrow in skepticism.

"And where am I supposed to get kevlar vests?" In response to me, Toothless just facepalmed.

"Just take some from the police department, your dad's a lieutenant so you could probably get some stuff in and out of the police building easy." Said Toothless and I mentally groaned. It's gonna be very difficult to get past Gobber, he's got the eyes of a hawk and won't just let me walk off with a bag of kevlar vests.

"*Sigh, I'll see what I can do." I said and Toothless grinned.

"Thank you my frenemy." Said Toothless in sarcasm and I gave him a deadpan look.

"Oh don't look at me like that. Hey, catch!" exclaimed Toothles as he tossed something at me. I caught the object, immediatley inspecting it; it was a helmet of sorts, or more of a cowl maybe. It was all black and made of metal. It had two circular bumps on each side of the head, where the ears would be. There were two points that were the largest and stuck out above the head and the other four points were medium sized and also pointed up with the two larger ones attatched to the circular bumps. The face had two openings in it, most likely for the eyes but the rest was covered by a full facemask.

"A helmet?"

"No, a _cowl_ , not a helmet; helmets protect your head, cowls protect your identity. Besides, it isn't just an ordinary cowl, put it on." Said Toothless. I felt around the cowl to try and find out how to put it on my head, and after a few seconds of searching blindly, Toothless sighed and took the cowl from me, hitting the back with his fist. Suddenly, the mouth cover split apart and the back of the helm retracted upwards into the top of the head, leaving a giant opening. I chuckled in embarrassment as I put on the cowl. I did what Toothless did, hitting the back of the cowl and sure enough, the retracted parts at the back and around the mouth extended and tightened around my face. For a while, I could only feel strangely soft material covering my face, but then a bright light, as if someone turned on a floodlight in my face, turned on and blinded me. I could see spots for a while, but soon my vision cleared up and the spots were replaced with a video-game like HUD display.

"And why am I suddenly in a video game?" I asked and I could see a little soundwave icon pop up on the bottom left of my vision.

" _It's to help you more when you're out fighting crime and stuff."_ Said Toothless over a communication line. I looked to where he was sitting on his office chair and he just looked at me annoyed and told me to look away. _"Look the other way, I'm testing the communications to see if they still work. You can hear me right?"_

I gave a thumbs up in acknowledgement and Toothless continued speaking. _"Alright, so the cowl has three vision modes, normal vision, sonic vision and combat vision: normal vision is what you see now, just how everything normally appears and with a few simple readouts, for sonic vision just say 'sonic vision'."_

"Sonic vision." I said, jumping a bit as my voice came out as completely different than what I usually hear, it was deep, growly and somewhat like mashed up static. Suddenly, the colors of the room turned into a purple-ish shade and all the cracks, crevices and objects seemed to be highlighted by yellow lines. I turned to Toothless, and once again, jumped back in shock as instead of Toothless, all I saw was a skeleton sitting on his office chair **(think of detective mode in Batman Arkham Series, only purple)**.

" _Relax, it's just me."_ Said Toothless over the comm line, and I pieced together that he was the skeleton on the office chair. _"What you see now is a layout of the environment around you. Most of the programming flows through me from your current location and I send it back as a digital readout. It's got a maximum range of 40 meters and everything you see is outlined and human or organic matter can be seen through anything and anywhere, even through walls. The best use for this is when you've got the element of surprise on a bunch of thugs or when you're facing off against an ambush and you need to know how many and where they are."_

"And what's the last one? Umm, 'combat vision' right?" I said and without warning, the display of the cowl changed completely, now everything was back to the normal HUD mode. Also, the points on my ears I was talking about earlier? They seemed to have turned downwards, giving me a sort of aerodynamic look.

" _Combat vision may seem the same as normal vision, with some slight modifications."_ I looked at Toothless to see he wasn't a skeleton anymore and the HUD changed; there were signifigantly less displays in my view, only showing the outlines of my environment and the little icon for Toothless' communications.

" _As you can see, there's less displays on the HUD so you won't get distracted, you can focus on your enemies more; all the scanners and readouts and crap I'll see and alert you if something important pops up. Oh, and the ears come down so no one can grab it, and it looks pretty damn cool too."_ Said Toothless, grinning. I returned the HUD back to normal mode, after which I hit the back of the head, retracting all the parts of the cowl and taking it off.

"So all we need now is kevlar right?"

"Yep, some kevlar and we're good to throw ourselves to the lions and the snakes."

I shook my head and smiled at Toothless' metaphor. I placed the cowl on a nearby desk and found an extra shirt lying around.

"Hey can I borow this, it's kind of cold out, you know, now wearing a shirt of all."

"Oh yeah, go ahead. Hey, do you want this back?" he asked as he reached under his super-computer and pulled out the shirt I had on the night before. I felt a little weird seeing the shirt was completely torn and there was a giant hole in the shoulder with a giant bloodstain of my blood.

"Nah, keep it, I'm going home. It's Friday so my dad might be back, and he's a cop so he'll notice if and where I've gone." I said and with that, I waved Toothless goodbye as I walked out the giant doors of the warehouse, looking back at Toothless in his cove of computers.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: New Guy

 _Hiccup's House_

 _Hiccup POV._

I came down the street, nearing my house and to my initial shock, saw an old muscle car sitting out the front of the garage.

"Oh great, he actually came home." I groaned as I came up onto the front door, opening it to see my father, sitting on the couch and watching T.V.

" _And in other news, hero cop Lieutenant Stephen Haddock has been awarded a medal for his outstanding performace, during the hostage crisis some time ago. Word on the street is that Lieutenant Haddock is a prime candidate for the position of Captain in Berk's police force…"_ I was a little bit shocked at the revelation that my dad had just been awarded a medal but at the same time, I wasn't as elated as someone would normally be when their dad gets a police award. The moment dad noticed me though, he turned off the T.V. and stood to confront me.

"H-Hey dad." I stuttered. Even after becoming a metahuman, getting shot in the shoulder and having a heart to heart with a metahuman, my own father staring me in the eyes was still something that I just couldn't brave.

"Son, it's… err, been a while." Said dad, obviously as nervous as I was. This is a particularly uncomfortable situation, mainly because we don't normally share more than ten words on a weekly basis.

"Umm, yeah, it has." I replied. The awkward silence that followed was unbearable, and we both tried to break it.

"So…" we both said at the same time.

"Uhh, you first." Said my dad

"No, I think you should go first."

"Um, alright then. So, you were out for the last few days, any particular reason why?" My heart sank when he said this; the one time I pray my dad doesn't come home, he does and it's even worse cause the time he came home was probably one of the days I was passed out from being shot in the shoulder.

"Uhh… I, umm… oh gods, maybe I should've gone first…" I struggled to think of an excuse, one that was believable and my dad won't have the inclination to use his skills as a police officer to look through my lie. Dad raised an eyebrow at my obvious nervousness, and I had only one excuse that I could think of off the top of my head.

"I've been uhh, training." I said

"Training?" asked dad, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

"Y-Yeah, I've been training. You know, bulking up, getting a few extra muscles here and there." I flexed my arm jokingly, but I could see my dad's eyes almost pop out of his eye sockets.

"Ho ho ho, you have been bulking up son! I imagine this isn't just for vanity's sake is it?" Dad crossed his arms, grinning, but I was having a minor panic attack as I couldn't just leave an open question like that unanswered.

"Umm… might be?" I said, internally cringing. That was a terrible excuse, however dad started laughing and slapped me in the back.

"Ahahaha, that is the best news I've heard all day, my son, taking after his father!" Laughed dad and I nervously chuckled in response. Did I mention dad was once the star of the football team and the largest high schooler that ever existed? No, well he was, and I've been a weakling for most of my life so hearing that I was trying to gain some more muscle would come as a big surprise to dad.

 _Oh this is_ so _going to bite me in the ass someday, but not today._ I thought as dad stopped laughing and the awkward silence returned.

"So…"

"Yeah…"

"Umm, good luck with the exercise thing."

"Yeah, thanks. I've, uhh, I've got some homework to do."

"Right right right, and I've got some reports to fill out so…"

"Goodnight." We both said at the same time as we brushed past each other, before I remembered what I wanted to ask dad when I got back.

"Hey dad, I haven't been to the department in a while and I'm sure Gobber misses me, so umm, could you take me with you tomorrow afternoon?" I asked.

"Sure Hiccup. Oh, bye the way, Gobber's been missing his assistant lately, and that's actually why I came back early to ask about your absence." Said dad

 _Well thank you Gobber._ I thought as my dad went to his office and me upstairs to my room. I closed the door and slumped down to the ground in emotional exhaustion.

"That went… ok-ish." I sighed as I trudged over to the bed and, for the second time this week flopped down and fell asleep instantly.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Friday, Bork High_

 _Hiccup POV._

This Friday was a bad day for me. Yes, it's the end of the school week and tomorrow is Saturday, but today was a bad Friday for me as the cuts, bruises and gunshot wound in my shoulder ached like crazy and if anyone looked close enough, I was favoring my shoulder and had a small limp. Toothless told me that metahumans have a naturally faster healing than normal humans, but it doesn't mean the wounds we sustain won't hurt. So, as I was sitting in homeroom class, trying to not move and rest as much as possible, the teacher tapping the board to call us to attention was not a welcome feeling.

"Attention class, we have a new student here today; he has just moved in from Burgess and is going to be studying at our school. You can come in Mr. Thorinson." The teacher gestured outside the classroom as the new student walked in. He looked 17 years old, and was about the same height as me, but he also had a slightly larger frame, making him look more muscular than most 17 year olds. His heterochromatic eyes outshined his short, messy brown hair: dark blue with a touch of emerald green around the pupil.

"Why don't you introduce yourself to the class Mr. Thorinson."

"My name is Hammond, Hammond Thorinson. And… uhh… that's it." Said Hammond, chuckling nervously.

"Alright Mr. Thorinson, why don't you take a seat in the back next to Hakon." Hammond strolled to the back, completely ignoring the stares of the entire class and plopping himself down on the seat next to me. I tried to look as unassuming as possible, out of instinctual antisocial behavior. This guy looked nice, but the bullies always look nice at first, until they hold you up for lunch money in the hallway. I mean, as a metahuman I could take him easily, but as Hiccup? No way, so when class ended, I rushed out of the classroom as fast as my injured body could handle.

 _Timeskip, Lunch_

The middle of the school day, when every single student in the school was rounded up into one place, that makes this the time when social class within the school is the most evident.

Jocks. Nerds. Cheerleaders. Goths. The winners. The losers. The class division was old school and generic, but that's the way it was, and I was stuck on the loser's end of the hierarchy. Actually, scratch that, I was stuck on a category of my own, "Hiccup" level, a level lesser than loser and dead last amongst everyone. Hence, I was sitting alone on the very corner of the cafeteria, isolated and dejected in my own little world.

So when someone comes up right behind me as I'm enjoying my food, I was reasonably surprised.

"So, there seems to be no place else to day and you seem pretty lonely." Said Hammond and I only nodded as he pulled the seat next to me and sat down. It was awkward to say the least, he was new and unaware of how the social class worked in this school. By sitting in the same table as me, he's painting a giant target on him, a target, that Snotlout has taken notice to.

"Hey meat!" he shouted. Hammond and I turned to see Snotlout and a couple of his minions standing behind us, arms crossed and looking as cock sure as ever.

"Yes?" Hammond asked.

"You know where you're sitting right?"

"A chair?" Snotlout's grin twitched a bit at Hammond's simplistic response, but he didn't really seem to mind all that much.

"This is the loser's table Thorinson, the only one here is Hiccup, and you're better off sitting with us." Snotlout shoved me in the shouder for emphasis. I grunted in pain as that was the exact shoulder that got shot and I was very tempted to grab Snotlout's arm and flip him onto the table. However, I held myself back as he wasn't worth the time and effort to fight. Hammond on the other hand looked infuriated as he could see the pain I was in and abruptly stood up, looking Snotlout dead in the eyes.

"Don't do that." He threatened and Snotlout raised an eyebrow.

"What? Are you actually defending this loser? Come on man, be smart here, we can be friends, good friends, but only if you step down… now." Snotlout uncrossed his arms and balled his fists, ready to fight. I stood up as well, putting a hand on Hammond's shoulder, to which he shifted his gaze to me.

"It's not worth it, just leave; don't escalate this any more." I said, trying to diffuse the situation before it got out of hand.

"Sorry man, but bullies need to be taught whose boss." He grinned, spinning around and punching Snotlout right in the face. He flew backwards, past his posse and onto a table, lunch trays and their contents spilling all over the shocked students. Everyone's mouth hung open as they saw that Snotlout was out cold, his eyes lolled back into his head and groaning in pain.

"Anyone else care to sample the cafeteria's newest dish? The delicious knuckle sandwich." Hammond cracked his knuckles, smiling like a sadist. All the other leftover jocks retreated, carrying their fallen leader probably to the nurse's office. Hammond casually returned to his seat beside me, and all returned to normal in the cafeteria. I sat down as well, trying to eat my lunch in peace, ignoring Hammond until he tried to get my attention.

"Ahem." He fake-coughed. I looked to him to see him leaning on the table, looking at me expectantly.

"Yes?"

"A thank you would suffice." I rolled my eyes at this statement and returned to eating.

"What? No thank you then?" he said incredulously and I glared at him.

"No, no thank you. That was reckless, stupid and completely unnecessary; you should've gone with them to their table, now they're just gonna come back for you." I said and Hammond began laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Hahaha, it's just, I'm pretty sure that idiotic boar won't be coming back any time soon."

"And what makes you so sure?"

"Something my mom once told me: 'criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot, give them something to fear, and it'll be like shooting fish in a barrel.'" That caught my attention.

"Criminals? We're talking about high school meatheads, not bank robbers." I replied

"Is there a difference? Both of them pick on the weak and take what they want, so the same principles apply."

"So what? You give them something to fear and they'll just… go away?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Haha, no, it's not that simple, but essentially, yes." I was about to say more, but the school bell rang, signaling lunch was over. Hammond smiled at me, picking up his tray and leaving for class.

"See you around Hakon." He said. Every student began vacating the cafeteria, but me, I continued to sit as my mind was working overtime, piecing together thoughts and ideas in my mind until suddenly, it all made sense.

 _I've been going about this whole vigilante thing all wrong; I can't just throw myself at a crime and expect everything to resolve itself by fists and will alone. I need to be more than a vigilante, more than a person._ My mind drifted off to my bookshelf at home and the mass of books I had in my possession; although one book in particular came to the forefront of my attention.

 _I need to be an icon. A legend. A dragon rider. No, dragon riders aren't feared by anyone, it's the dragon people are scared of. I need to be a monster. I need to be a dragon._

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _BCPD Police Department_

 _Hiccup POV._

 _Ok, plan is: socialize with Gobber, take inventory check, stuff kevlar vests in bag, then get the hell out of the department._ I thought as my dad drove into the police department's parking lot. I kept thinking this same statement as we went out of the car and headed for the doors of the department, mainly because I had no idea what else to do and there was a very frustrated look on his face. It wasn't until I saw the hulking, bearded, douchey looking detective standing to meet him, I understood.

"Stevie!" Greeted the douchebag, slapping my dad on the shoulder. I could see him cringe at the douchebag's touch and so did I when he turned his attention to me.

"Ah, I see you've brough you're little heir with you Stevie! Morning kiddo, the name's Detective Marcus Mendoza, your daddy's partner, but you can call me uncle Mogadon!" said douchebag, Mogadon. Yeah, now I see why my dad didn't want to come to work today; and I sure as hell am not calling this meathead "uncle".

"Yeah. Umm, I'm gonna go to work now so… bye dad." I said, brushing past Mogadon as he grinned and placed his arms on his waist.

"Bye Hiccup." He said, waving goodbye. As soon as he thought I was gone, Mogadon started chatting up dad and wrapping his arm around his shoulder. Wow, dad is looking even more unhappy than I thought possible.

I led myself through the halls and rooms of the BCPD building, knowing where I was and where I was going by heart, as, being the son of a cop, have been to this building for most of my life. It took a while of ghosting past a few officers and running as fast as possible from the ones who recognised me as "Stoic's boy", but finally, I stepped through the doors of the armory and was met with one of the only people who ever took me seriously. Somewhat.

"Iccup'!" said Gobber, grinning.

"Hey Gobber." I said, waving back.

"Where've ya been boyo? I thought you've been carried off?" I rubbed the back of my head in nervousness, remembering the events over the past week and what I needed from the armory.

"So, I'll take inventory then?"

"Oh no boyo, yer not gettin' away that easy. Fer yer extended absence, I've got a lot of dirty weapons an' they aren't gonna clean themselves." Gobber hooked me by the shirt and lifted me up. I could only go limp as he brought me to one of the tables with a disassembled gun, a rag and gun polish.

"Oh come on…" I groaned

"When you're done with tha', then ya can take inventory." He hobbled away, going over to his desk at the window of the armory as I begrudgingly picked up a few gun parts and began scrubbing.

 _This may take a while._

 _Timeskip_

"Done!" I shouted, throwing my rag into the air and jumping out of my chair towards Gobber, almost falling over in the process.

"Calm down, calm down lad, yer goin' ta hurt yerself if ya keep this up. Jeez, yer awfully excited today." Gobber said, placing his hands on his waist.

"I-It's just I've got a bit of homework to do and I'd like to finish early." I said nervously. Gobber raised an eyebrow and I thought I was already caught before even doing anything, but he just shrugged and handed me a clipboard.

"Alright lad, I can understand tha'. I've got one and' an' I've still got to fill out 16 stupid reports a day." Gobber returned his attention to his desk where he was filling out said report and I quickly ran as fast as possible to the back of the room, taking inventory but at the same time looking for the kevlar vests.

"Ok, let's see, gun, gun, gun, big gun, bigger gun, battering ram… ah, kevlar vests." I recited. I grabbed the bag I had brought with me, large enough to carry maybe two or three vests, but conspicuos enough so it didn't look too suspicious when I walked out the front doors with it. I unzipped the bag and grabbed two kevlar vests, stuffing it in the bag, however Toothless said I needed three at best, but the bag, I realize now, would barely even fit the two. I panicked a bit, but there I saw it, right under the human kevlar vest shelf was the dog kevlar vest shelf. I prayed to the gods it would be enough as I took one of the dog vests and stuffed in the bag, not forgetting to check the rest of the inventory list before rushing to Gobber's desk and handing it back to him.

"All done, by Gobber, see you!" I said, swiftly jumping out the door. However, my heart stopped as I felt Gobber's normal hand on my shoulder.

"Not so fast boyo." He said, I gulped as I slowly turned to meet his squinting eyes.

 _Please don't ask about the bag, please don't ask about the bag, please don't ask about the bag._ I thought

"Wha's in th' bag?" he asked. Oh crap, he asked what's in the bag.

"Oh uh, umm, it's uhh…" I stuttered and I could feel Gobber's suspicion rise with every ticking second. He was probably a moment away from taking the bag and inspecting the contents, when suddenly, an officer swung the door to the armory open.

"Umm, Officer Gordon? Captain's calling all everyone to a manditory staff meeting, some hotshot lawyer's doing a briefing." He said. I had a little party in my head as Gobber let go of my shoulder and grabbed his coat from his chair.

"Alright, alright, I'm comin'. See ya later boyo, I've got some yak crap to listen to." With that, Gobber exited the armory and I breathed a sigh of relief, adjusting the bag on my shoulder and running out the doors of the department as fast as possible, running to the parking lot to throw my bags in dad's car before racing back inside the building to meet up with dad. I jogged around the department building, looking through room after room looking for my dad when I came upon practically all of the officers packed inside one of the meeting rooms. My dad was standing in the front, with a woman I've never seen before standing beside him. She looked… tough, for a lack of a better word. She wasn't built like a bulldozer like most of the women from this city, which only meant that she was from out of town. She had brown hair, a slim figure and a stern face. She wore only a blue business suit and had a black leather messenger bag which she put on the wooden podium in front of her.

"Alright now, settle down, settle down, this isn't the christmas party yet. We're here to listen to Miss… uhh, sorry, I didn't catch your name." My dad said nervously. Wow, I don't even know her, but if this lady could make my dad nervous, I am not willing to get on her bad side.

"Thorinson, Lieutenant Haddock, Attorney Leslie Thorinson." She said, adjusting the thin rimmed square glasses that emphasized her striking green eyes.

 _Wait, Thorinson? As in Hammond Thorinson?_ I thought, thinking back on the new guy in school, him punching Snotlout in the face.

"Yes, yes, sorry about that." Said, no, _whimpered_ my dad as Atty. Thorinson nodded in response.

"I am here, because I am your new head of Internal Affairs." Every officer in the room stared bug eyed and mouths hanging open. Hell, even I was shocked. Working in internal affairs here in the BCPD was like sticking your hand into a wasp's nest. That's why the IA director position has been vacant for the past 2 years, ever since the last one died in an "accident".

"You? IA director? But yer a civilian, an' a woman to boot!" Shouted one of the officers and shouts of agreement and outraged accompanied his statement. I could see Atty. Thorinson sigh and reach into her briefcase. Before anyone could react, she produced a taser and pulled the trigger, 50,000 volts of agony latching onto the first officer and doing its job. The entire room fell silent as the officer began convulsing on the ground and Atty. Thorinson placed the taser back on the table, her gaze piercing every single person in the room, myself included.

"Anyone else have anything to say? No? Good. Now you all listen here, I'm your new IA director and I expect to be treated as such. I am not your friend, I am not your enemy, I am the janitor, here to clean up the shit from the ass of this department. And it'll be your choice whether I do it with toilet paper, or sandpaper." Atty. Thorinson said as she reloaded her taser, after which she reached into her bag and pulled out a, what I think was a sleek black desert eagle handgun. All the officers, especialy the ones who everyone knew was corrupt, all stared at the gun and the tough as nails lawyer holding it with a mix disdain and fear.

"That is all. Get back to your jobs ladies and gentlemen, and stay clean." Atty. Thorinson placed both weapons back in her bag and walked out of the room. The entire room was silent, until my dad broke the silence.

"Alright, alright, you heard the lady, get back to work, the lot of you." All the officers piled out of the room, leaving me trying to avoid being squashed, all the while thinking about the strange new additions to this city.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Industrial Warehouse_

 _Hiccup POV._

I snuck into the warehouse, which I have dubbed as the "Cove" because just calling it the warehouse is kind of boring. I didn't see Toothless at his office chair in front of the big computer screens, so I explored until I found him, hunched over a work bench surrounded by miscellaneous machine parts and wires, sleeping like a baby. A mischievous grin spread across my face, as I thought of how vulnerable Toothless was right now.

"I did it!" I shouted, right in Toothless' ear. He shot up and in a burst of panic, fell to the ground and crawled underneath his worktable, all while I was laughing at his alarmed state.

"You jackass!" Shouted Toothless, popping out from his hiding space and glaring at me. When I wouldn't stop laughing, he formed his hand into a gun and attempted to shoot my foot. But my danger sense acted up and I jumped onto the table just as the blast hit the ground.

"Ok, ceasefire!" I called and Toothless looked at me with an unexpressive face.

"Did you have a reason for scaring the crap out of me?" Toothless crawled out from under the table and I threw the bag with the Kevlar vests at him, which he caught.

"Oh joy, and it's not even my birthday." He said sarcastically, throwing the vests on the worktable.

"So, when will it be ready?" I asked

"Tomorrow, at the earliest. It'd be quicker if you'd have given me actual _human_ vests." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly and Toothless sighed, "*Sigh, just come back in the evening and it'll be done by then, hopefully."

"Good enough. Well, see you bud."

"See you. And don't call me bud, I'm not your pet."


	9. Chapter 9

**Surprise**

Chapter 9: Breaking Heads and Taking Names

 _Cove_

 _Hiccup POV._

Toothless called me on a peaceful Saturday evening. All was quiet and for the first time in a while I slept peacefully, until the ungodly sound of my phone broke my peace and Toothless' voice rang through my ears. When I got to the Cove, I was met with the sight of Toothless standing in front of the suit, holding his hands out, trying to make it look less… shabby.

"So, I'm going to wear this?" I asked

"It's not as bad as it looks, there's a few extra layers to make you look bigger than you actually are, but other than that, it's safe to wear. And it's pretty flexible too." Said Toothless and I doubtfully pulled the suit off the pedestal and began to put it on.

 _Timeskip, Rooftops of Berk_

It wasn't half bad. I mean, jumping up and over rooftops and alleyways is fun and all, but I'm talking more about the suit than the wind rushing past my face, even though I couldn't feel it on account of the mask. But the suit held together much better than I thought it would, although if the bad guys are smart, they'll notice the giant stitches and patches that showed the weak points in the suit. I'll have to find a way to fix those or at least hide them.

"So how's the suit feel?" asked Toothless over the comm line. I stopped jumping and rested on top of a water tower to reply.

"Not bad, flexible, durable, but it's not very insulated." I said, and, as if on queue, a cold gust of wind blew past me and I shivered in response.

"It's fine, the adrenaline and metahuman physiology will keep you from freezing to death. Oh, heads up, you've got a couple of idiots trying to steal that truck over there." I turned my head to see about four guys trying to break into the driver's seat of a small truck, parked in the middle of an alleyway.

"Ok Hiccup, here we go. Combat vision." I jumped off the water tower as I felt the ears on my cowl move downwards and saw the display on my HUD change. I landed on the wall of the alley and did a wall jump, crashing down on the hood of the truck just as the would-be carjackers got into the front seat.

"Holy-!" Shouted one of the carjackers, jumping out from the truck and scrambling to the wall. The rest of the carjackers performed a similar action; they all scrabbled away from me until their backs hit the wall.

"Didn't your mothers ever teach you clowns that stealing is bad?" I jeered and with my modified voice, it sounded more menacing than I had thought.

"The hell… you got a death wish buddy cause I'm gonna-!" Started one of the carjackers. My danger sense suddenly flared as I could see the carjacker reach into his jacket, attempting produce a weapon from his coat. Before he could do anything, I leaped forward, outstretching my legs and wrapping my arm around the carjacker's neck, bringing us both down to the ground, his head hitting the floor instead of mine.

The first carjacker was dazed, and could do nothing as I brought my fist down on his face, rendering him unconscious with a sickening crack. The other carjackers got over their shock relatively quickly, putting up their hands or drawing knives and charging to meet me. I did a Chinese get up and as soon as I was on my feet, I delivered a roundhouse kick to the head of the closest carjacker. Some light steel plating on my shins added with a touch of metahuman strength threw him to the wall; he was unconscious before he hit the ground. I would've added more strength to the hit, but I wanted them unconscious not their heads caved in.

My danger sense warned me of incoming danger and I returned to a ready stance in time to see a knife being thrust towards my chest. I used the carjacker's momentum to grab his arm and pull him towards me, kneeing him in the stomach. As he gasped for air, his two companions tried to bum rush me and tackle me to the ground. However, one of the carjackers made the mistake of jumping into the air to try and use his weight to force me to the ground. I smiled as I grabbed him out of the air and to his shock and surprise, threw him at the other guy, flattening them both to the ground. I turned away from them and back to the carjacker I kneed in the stomach to see him rearing back to strike me again, this time with his bare hands.

"Too slow." I said, rushing forward in a blur. I ducked under his wild punch and delivered a palm strike to his nose. As soon as I heard the crack of his nose bone, I landed an elbow strike to his temple. When I confirmed he was down for the count, I looked to the two remaining carjackers, whom were just beginning to stand and regain their bearings.

I took a few steps before leaping into the air, spinning once before smashing my fist onto one of the carjacker's head. I saw him go limp, just standing still, before flopping to the ground. I kicked the final carjacker, in the chest, sending him flying into the side of the truck they were trying to steal. I looked onto my handiwork and internally beamed with pride.

 _Ha! Try taking my lunch money now Snotlout!_ I thought

" _Look out!"_ Shouted Toothless over the comm line.

My danger sense went off in tandem to the sound of the hammer of a gun being cocked back. On instinct I leaned forwards as a loud _bang_ echoed through the alley and saw something impact the wall behind me. The carjacker I had kicked to the side of the van had retrieved the gun from his friend and held it in my direction. I ran towards him, using my acute danger sense, I knew when every bullet would be fired, and where it would land. It was child's play to kick the gun out of his hand and hoist him up by the collar of his shirt.

" _What are you doing?"_ asked Toothless.

"Interrogating." I whispered so the carjacker I was holding wouldn't hear me.

 _Ok, be scary, be scary, be scary._ I thought

"Wh-What are you?" Asked the carjacker, fear in his eyes and stammering.

"Me? I'm the _Night Fury_. And right now you have a choice, you can either tell me what's in the van, or I'm gonna have to hurt you." I got up in his face and I saw try to squirm away from my gaze.

"W-What're you talking about?"

"*Groan, I'm not an idiot. Why would a truck this new be sitting in an alleyway like this and what would it have garner the attention of four of you monkeys?" I asked and the man audibly gulped.

"Uh-uh… I…" I punched the side of the truck, directly beside the carjacker's face and he screamed in panic.

"Two hundred and six bones in your body and I can break about a hundred or more before you need a hospital. That's a lot of pain, but it can all be avoided if you just answer the question, WHAT'S IN THE TRUCK!" I shouted, smashing the carjacker against the truck for extra effect.

"Alright, alright! I'll talk! I'll talk!" Said the carjacker. I tightened my grip on his shirt as a signal for him to continue talking or I'll break him in half.

"T-The truck's s'posed to be headed to the Outcasts, it's g-got some weapons and some new fangled do hickeys. B-but the boss said just take it for ourselves."

"Who's your boss?" I said, raising him a bit higher.

"G-Guy from the Dragons, TT!" My eyes narrowed in my mask at that name. TT, otherwise known as the Terrible Terror, was a low-level gang leader for the Hellheim's Gate Dragons. Rumors fly around here and there about what he does for the Dragons. It mainly consists of gun running, drug trafficking, robberies, and generally keeping the lesser ranked in the organization, well, organized through reward, or threat of reporting to the main enforcers of the Red Death.

"Where do I find the Terror?" I asked

"T-Tomorrow night! We were supposed to keep the weapons with us till tomorrow night, and then take them to TT. I-It's on the docks, d-dock house 24, 10:00 PM!" I smirked inside my mask, happy that using fear was a much more effective tool than just beating people up.

"Thank you." I said, loosening my grip on him… and then smashing his head against the truck.

" _A bit harsh don't you think?"_ asked Toothless and I shrugged, even though I wasn't sure if he could see me.

"Eh, he deserved it." I replied, switching back to normal vision.

As the final carjacker slumped to the ground, I used some metahuman strength to punch the lock of the cargo door of the truck. As the lock crumbled with the force of my punch, and I opened the back of the truck to see several crates stacked on top of one another. On first glace, they would be what you'd normally find in a small truck in the middle of the city. However, when I cracked open one of the cases, I saw there was enough firepower in them to take down the BCPD. I looked in another case and I saw something that didn't look quite like a weapon. It was a small crossbow looking device that had only a small point poking out from the end. However, there were small indentations on the point, suggesting it was more than just an arrow.

"What is this?" I asked

" _Hold on, let me see."_ Replied Toothless. Suddenly, my view was switched to Sonic and through the purple hue of my HUD, I could see little text boxes popping up around the device, showing it's individual components.

" _Hmm, I think it's a grappling hook."_

"A what now?"

" _A grappling hook! You know, point, shoot, then fly up into the air! Wheee."_ Said Toothless, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Interesting." I whispered, slipping the gadget on my right forearm.

" _Whoa, whoa, whoa, what're you doing?"_

"Umm, taking the grappling hook?" I replied. The line was silent for a few moments; Toothless was probably debating whether to stop me or not.

" _Eh, alright I guess. It's not like the police are gonna notice it's gone."_ I hopped out from the van, where I was met with a sudden blast of cold wind. I shivered at the freezing gale and I searched around for a way to warm myself. My attention was captured by one of the carjacker's coat; it was all black and reached until his feet. It wasn't like those regular trench coats with four buttons on the stomach; it had no buttons so it was open down the middle, and it had a long collar. I walked towards the carjacker's unconscious body and, ahem, _appropriated_ his coat. I decided to pop up the long collar to keep the wind from my neck and looked at myself in the side mirror of the truck. The view wasn't that good, but I could see entire coat seem to fit me like a glove; the long sleeves even hid the patches and stitches in the suit perfectly. **(Think of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Jensen's Coat)**

"I am so keeping this." I said, pulling the hem of the coat down a bit.

" _You look like an imbecile."_ Muttered Toothless, but he misjudged how much I could hear over the comm line.

"No, if I'm gonna be a superhero, this is my superhero cape! It's logic my frienemy, logic. Besides, it's warm." I said, raising my arm to test my new gadget, when something clicked in my mind and I lowered my hand.

" _What? Not gonna fly into the night sky heroically? I called the cops and they're gonna be on top of you in about five, six minutes."_ asked Toothless as I went back into the truck and sifted through the ridiculous amount of weapons crates until I found what I was looking for.

"Aha!" I said, pulling out a grenade from the box.

" _What are you doing?"_

"Hey, would you rather let some dirty cop have all this firepower, just to put it back on the streets or…" I moved all the unconscious carjackers as far away from the truck as I could, depositing them on the empty sidewalks and covering the entrance to the alley with a dumpster. When I was sure everyone was out of the vicinity, I pulled the safety pin on the grenade and threw it into the truck. I raised my arm and pulled the trigger on the grappling hook, the arrow at the end of the new implement shooting into the air, a trail of wire following. Small, serrated sides popped out of the previously smooth point and penetrated the brick of the building directly above me. I pulled another trigger and I jolted in surprise as the internal motor pulled me upwards along the wire. As soon as the grapple reached the hook, the serrated points retracted into the point and the hook slipped out of the hole it made. I panicked a bit, as I didn't expect the sudden pull of the grappling hook be exchanged with the sensation of slowly falling. I was lucky enough to grab the ledge of the roof above me and hoist myself onto the roof before a deafening explosion reverberated through the night.

"That was a lot smaller of an explosion than I thought." I said, wiping some dust on my new coat.

" _What the hell dude? I heard that all the way from here!"_ Shouted Toothless

"Hey, it got the job done. Besides, it'll get my message across."

" _What message?"_ I smirked at that question.

"There's a new monster in town, and this one isn't on your payroll. Now, could you remind me tomorrow night that there's a notorious a gangster to bring down, I've got trigonometry homework to do."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	10. Chapter 10

**People! PM me: Trench Coat? Yay or nay?**

 **And Stephen is not a girls name; Stephen is pronounced "Stehfen", totally a guy name.**

Chapter 10: The Indestructable Gronkle

 **XXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Docks_

 _Hiccup POV._

Ahh, Sunday, the great rest day, a time of calm, relaxation and last minute homework cramming. Now, normally, I'd be chilling at home, doing said homework cramming or watching TV. Heck, maybe I'd even go out to the mall with my non-existent friends. But no, I was here, 10:00 in the evening, standing on the roof of a dock house in a dock that smelled like socks and rotten coconuts.

I had waited anxiously the whole day for tonight, spending most of my time at the Cove practicing with my new grappling hook. As I child I had always wanted one of those, so when Toothless took it from me to study it a bit more, I was a bit peeved that I had to go out tonight without my new toy. Then again, it wasn't that bad, doing parkour across the city. Berk was an urban playground and I had quite a lot of fun jumping up and over buildings and rooftops, I especially enjoyed the shocked expressions of some lucky people, who were able to get a glance at the "demon in the trench coat".

So after an hour of non-stop free running, I had finally arrived at dock house 24, peering through one of the roof windows just to make sure I had the right place. The windows were pretty faded, but one look with Sonic Vision and I knew I had the right place. I could see fifteen, no, maybe twenty guys here and there, doing miscellaneous tasks. However, they were all ultimately surrounding the door of the dock house, likely waiting for the weapons truck that may or may not be a pile of shrapnel right now.

" _Well, at least the guy didn't lie."_ Said Toothless and I silently agreed, switching back to normal vision and carefully opening the roof window. I decided to rely on stealth for tonight, mainly because I was horribly outnumbered and I needed a bit more time to think of a strategy for how to fight my way through all these people. I gently dropped myself onto one of the horizontal beams along the roof, making as little noise as possible moving from beam to a nearby catwalk. Now I had a perfect view of the entire dock house as I tried to discern who was the Terrible Terror and which people were just cannon fodder. I found my mark in the form of a small, weaselly looking man in a dark green sweat suit.

"Where's Joe? He and Stiff were supposed to be here ages ago!" Said the Terror, raising his hands in the air in frustration.

"I dunno boss, Joe's not normally this late." Said one of the thugs, and the Terror looked at him irritatedly

"Well call him again! If the Outcasts find out that we took their new weapons, I'm as good as dead!" The Terror pulled out a pistol from his pants and the thug backed off as far away as possible, lest he be shot.

"S-Sure thing boss." Replied the thug, pulling out his phone and dialing the number of Joe, probably one of the guys I put the hurt on last night. As the thug was making the call, I had finished my battle plan to take out all the guys and haul the Terror off to jail in one fell swoop.

Jump smack down in the middle and start punching.

And I did just that. I leapt from my catwalk to the ground below, landing behind the Terrible Terror and surprising all the thugs surrounding me.

"Hello." I said, rearing my fist back and punching the Terrible Terror's dumbstruck face. As he was rearing back from the force of the hit, I grabbed one of his outstretched arms and pulled, heaving him into my outstretched arm in a lariat. It wasn't even five seconds and I've already got him unconscious.

"That was easy." I said.

I may have spoken too soon.

My danger sense flared the first time tonight and I dropped to the ground as the doors of the dock house suddenly flew off their hinges. They soared over my head and nearly crushed two thugs who were unlucky enough to stand behind me.

"WHO YOU?!" Shouted a very thick and gravelly voice.

I turned to see who just threw a eight foot loading door about ten feet away and I, am shocked to say, saw a woman. Well, to be honest, woman is a pretty relative term; she (I think it's a she) looked like an angry, squishy looking mountain that tried its best to look like a preschool student. She seemed semi-obese and had warts all over her, on her arms, legs and even parts of her face, but she was about seven, maybe eight feet tall so her height made up for her deformities (kind of). She wore a sleeveless brown shirt covered by denim overalls with one giant pocket on the stomach. She looked at me with angry brown eyes and, with her pigtails dancing around due to her sudden movement, pointed a huge fat finger in my direction and shouted:

"Where the hell did you hatch from?" I blurted and the creature narrowed her eyes at me.

"I COME TO PUNISH TWIRPY TERROR. BUT YOU DO JOB FOR ME." The ugly lady roared, swatting some poor soul who was unlucky enough to be standing by her side. I could hear every bone breaking in his body as he was launched through the wall of the dock house, never to be seen again.

 _Ok, that was definitely metahuman strength._ I thought as the ugly lady turned back to me.

"WHO YOU?" questioned the ugly lady and I audibly gulped.

" _Hiccup… there are many ways you can live to see tomorrow and all of them involve getting the hell out of there, ASAP!"_ shouted Toothlessover the comm line, however I did the exact opposite of what he wanted.

"I'm the Night Fury, how bout you jumbo? Got a name?" I said, my sarcasm rearing it's ugly head due to my nervousness of being faced down by three hundred pounds of aggression.

" _Oh you are an imbecile."_ Groaned Toothless as the ugly lady looked even angrier than she did before.

"GRONKLE NO LIKE PUNY NIGHT FURY! DRAGONS DESTROY!" she shouted. It was then that the gravity of my situation dawned on me. The ugly lady that was standing before me was none other than the Invincible Gronkle, one of the Hellheim's Gate Dragons' five top enforcers. She's known to be, physically, the strongest of the enforcers, being gifted with metahuman strength and durability; she could bend steel like it was made of clay and crush bones like they were toothpicks.

 _Oh crap._ I thought as every Dragon in the warehouse recovered from their shock and descended upon me. My danger sense went wild as I switched my cowl to combat vision. One of the Dragons threw the first punch, which I dodged by ducking to the right. I grabbed him by the arm, using his momentum to put him off balance and throw him at one of his compatriots.

At this point I'm very thankful for my metahuman mastery of martial arts, cause it's coming in hand for not getting my head caved in. I was flying across the warehouse, punching out Dragons, vaulting over their heads and whenever they tried to punch me, I'd always see it coming and counter, bashing them in the process. The fight was going well, I had taken out about 11 or 12 Dragons, however the Gronkle had decided to join the fight. She charged forward like a raging bull and I had only milliseconds to react, sliding under her as she broke past a line of Dragons, throwing them to the side and crushing others, before impacting a steel beam. I noticed with alarm, that the steel beam that stopped the Gronkle's charge had a huge deformity in the shape of the Gronkle's body and her angry eyes focused back onto me.

"I don't suppose we can talk about this?"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Docks_

 _No POV._

Outside the docks, where the violence within one of it's own dock houses went on unnoticed, there was very little activity. Maybe a few homeless people and junkies hanging around the area, but there was one person in particular walking across the edge of the docks that stood out. His hands were stuck in the pockets of his jacket as he solemnly walked the perimeter of the docks in deep contemplation.

 _New city, new school, heck, mom's even gotten me a new life._ Thought Hammond, stopping his walk to look at the city from an opening between two dock houses. It practically burned the night sky, the lights from the buildings illuminating the dark night, and from this distance, it almost looked angelic.

 _Pfft, angelic my left ass-cheek; this place is about as angelic as a prison. Berk City: voted most dangerous city of the year. I don't understand why the hell mom would want to move here. Only thing good about this place is that we moved close to the sea, nice place to think. I guess it's cause she just wants to help more people, just like… dad._ Hammond continued his walk, not bothering to continue his thought further.

 _Well, it does run in the family though, I just can't stand to see a place like this fall to crime. *Sigh, but if someone catches me doing 'that', moving to another city will be the least of my problems._ Hammond was about to turn around and head home, when out of nowhere, something broke through the wall of one of the dock houses and landed right in front of the boy. Hammond fell back, surprised by the sudden occurrence and, getting over the initial shock, went over to look what had flown out of the dock house.

"The hell is that?" asked Hammond out loud, reaching to touch the object that had been launched out of the dock house.

"Ow." Said an obviously altered voice and the thing that flew out from the dock house stood up, revealing itself to be none other than our hero Hiccup, still in his vigilante suit and rubbing the back of his head/cowl. Hammond pulled his hand back and fell over; he could only look in a mix of fear and amazement as Hiccup began to dust off his suit and coat.

"The heck are you?!" shouted Hammond and Hiccup turned to face him.

"Woah! Ham… umm… hello. So, yeah, there'll be a time to explain but right now you need to get the hell out of here before…" Hiccup couldn't finish as the door of the dock house suddenly flew off its hinges and out came the Gronkle, angry and rushing towards Hiccup and Hammond. Luckily, Hiccup's danger sense warned him of the threat and he jumped at Hammond, tackling him to the side before the Gronkle's fist crashed down, putting a large hole in the ground of the docks.

"Why is there a giant troll trying to kill us?!" shouted Hammond as Hiccup led him to safety, both of them hiding behind a nearby stack of crates.

"It's a long story." Said Hiccup, peeking his head over the boxes to see the Gronkle trying to pull her fist out of the ground, where it was still stuck.

"GRONKLE KILL PUNY NIGHT FURY!" shouted the Gronkle.

"Who are you? No, scratch that, what are you?" asked Hammond and Hiccup whirled around to look at Hammond.

"Well as the troll said, I'm the Night Fury." Said Hiccup, Night Fury as he heard the Gronkle finally dislodge her fist from the ground and began to search for Night Fury and Hammond.

"The wha-? Night Fury? Like the dragon? Gah, never mind, anyways, why is that thing trying to kill us?"

"Correction, trying to kill me. But it doesn't matter; you need to get out of here Ha… I mean, uhh, I didn't catch your name?"

"It's Hammond." Said Hammond.

"Alright Hammond, you need to get out of here, I'll distract my good friend over there while you run." Said Night Fury

"Run? Hell no, I can help you take her down!" Exclaimed Hammond, a bit too loud as Night Fury's danger sense thundered in reaction to the Gronkle jumping in the air and attempting to crush Night Fury and Hammond.

"Incoming!" Warned Night Fury, pulling Hammond away from the crates, which were now reduced to splinters from the Gronkle's attack.

"YOU BOTH DIE!" shouted the Gronkle and Hammond's brows scrunched up in anger as he prepared to fight, stepping forward towards the Gronkle.

"Get back!" Shouted Night Fury, putting his hand out to block Hammond from moving a step further.

"But I can help!"

"Yes you can help, by getting as far away as possible. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but the Gronkle will kill you if you don't get out of here! I can slow her down, but that's not gonna matter if you don't run!" said Night Fury, as he charged forward to face the Gronkle. Hammond could only watch in awe and apprehension as Night Fury jumped up and landed a kick dead center of the Gronkle's face. He then used her to backflip, landing on his feet and dealing hit after hit on the Gronkle. Every time she tried to catch Night Fury, he'd dodge the attack and hit her somewhere else. Hammond, according to Night Fury's orders, was supposed to run for dear life. However he did no such thing as he just stood there as if in a trance, watching and admiring the Night Fury's skill and combat prowess, but most of all, his willingness to put himself in danger to protect a stupid stranger who was at the wrong place at the wrong time. So when the Gronkle caught one of the Night Fury's punches, hoisting him up in the air and proceeding to crush his arm in her grip, Hammond couldn't stand by any more.

Hammond ignored Night Fury's statement and began to glow, much to his confusion.

"Lights out, ugly" yelled Hammond as a ball of energy began to from in his hand. At it's peak of power, Hammond released it and if flew in the Gronkle's face, hitting her right between the eyes with a brilliant flash of light.

"AUGH!" the Gronkle screamed in pain as she relinquished her vice-like grip on the Night Fury's arm. Night Fury looked up at the Gronkle just in time to she her bring her large hands and began to rub her eyes, as if she had sand in her eyes and was trying to get it out. "GRONKLE CAN'T SEE!" She screamed in pain and desperation. Night Fury used this chance to take the offensive. He dealt several hard blows to the Gronkle, all while trying to ignore the screaming pain in his shoulder and avoid the Gronkle's flailing arms. He was so focused on this, he didn't notice Hammond turn his attention to several trash cans that were sitting at the sides. He reached out, and as if they were being controlled by some invisible force, began to vibrate and then go flying towards the Gronkle. Night Fury had just backed off from a successful offensive as they hit their mark, causing the Gronkle to stumble back several paces and Night Fury return his attention to him, as the realization finally dawned on him.

"You're a Meta-human?!" Night Fury asked, disbelief and shock in his voice.

Hammond raised an eyebrow at him, "Is now really the time to talk about this?" He asked rhetorically. The moment was spoiled when they heard an angry grunt ans looked up to see an dumpster flying at them. Night Fury dodged out of the way, but then remembered his new ally was in the path of the dumpster. He landed with a roll into a crouch and looked to where the dumpster would have landed but to his surprise, Hammond wasn't there. Instead, he saw movement directly above the spot where Hammond was and was greeted with a sight he never thought he would see in his life.

10 feet above the ground, Hammond was floating.

Night Fury did a double check to make sure his cowl wasn't damaged from the fight, but it was functioning just fine. Then it truly dawn on him.

Hammond was freaking floating.

From his spot in the air, Hammond began to through more energy blasts at the Gronkle, who had brought her arms up to shield her face and eyes from the blinding blasts.

"I was fighting a large troll who was trying to kill me, now my classmate is flying and throwing energy and garbage at said troll." Night Fury spoke in a dry and obvious tone.

 _"Your talent for understatement will never cease to amaze me, but shouldn't you be helping him?"_ Night Fury heard in his head set. After this snapped him out of his daze, he went back into the fight. While Hammond kept the Gronkle distracted from a safe distance by throwing energy blasts or nearby objects at her, Night Fury would use the distraction to strike quick and effective blow against the Gronkle. They worked together like this for two minutes. By the end of those two minutes, The Gronkle was on one knee and breathing heavy, but she was not out of the fight yet. Hammond and Night Fury about 10 feet away, both equally exhausted.

"This isn't working!" Night Fury spoke with as much haste as he could muster. He turned to Hammond and asked, "Do you have a plan B." Hammond to be in thought for a moment, until he perked his head up.

"I just might, but I don't know it will work!" he exclaimed rather quickly. An angry growl from the Gronkle got their attention, she was getting ready for round two. "But it doesn't look like we have a choice" He spoke with haste. His hands began to again, but instead of firing another energy blast, he slammed them into the ground. Night Fury looked on in confusion for a second before noticing that the concrete beneath the Gronkle feet began to ripple as it's solid structure changed into a sort of viscous fluid. The Gronkle began to sink and flail her arms wildly.

"LET ME OUT!" She shouted as she tried to swing at Hammond, whose face show extreme concentration and effort. Night Fury wasn't going to give her that chance to break that concentration. Once the concrete reached her Hip, he jumped into the air and brought down both knees square onto the Gronkle's face as a loud crack was heard. This caused the Gronkle to clutch her broken nose in pain as the blood began to run down her face, which caused her left arm to be trapped by the liquid concrete she was rapidly sinking into. Within seconds, only the Gronkle's head and some of her left arm were above the surface. Hammond retracted his Hands and the concrete became solid again. "I KILL YOU, YOU STUPID WORM!" She screamed as she began her struggles to free herself, but to no avail. She wasn't going anywhere.

Night Fury turned to his exhausted allied, "Nice work." he complimented with a trace of awkwardness in his voice. Hammond nodded his head in between deep breaths, both acknowledging the compliment and showing that he was alright. Seeing that he was OK, Night Fury than asked the most obvious question, "I have to ask this, but why didn't you do that earlier?"

Hammond looked him for a second before looking at the struggling Gronkle before coming up with his answer, "To be honest, I didn't think that was going to work." Night Fury looked at him in surprise, but before he could retort, he was interrupted with, "THAT. WAS. AMAZING!"

"What?"

"That was amazing! She was all like boom and you were all like pow! You beat her up like she was nothing!" Night Fury was taken aback by Hammond's child-like excitement, but it left as fast as it came as Hammond's dynamism was quickly replaced by guardedness.

"You… you won't tell anyone about, you know." Said Hammond, gesturing to the Gronkle struggling in the floor of the docks.

"No worries, you aren't the only metahuman in this town." Said the Night Fury, winking, even though he knew Hammond wouldn't see it.

"O-Oh! That explains a lot." Hammond said, understanding the hidden message of Night Fury's statement.

"Well, you'd better call the police about her." Said Night Fury and Hammond fumbled to get his phone from his pants pocket.

"Hey, umm, you sure she won't break out of there?" asked Hammond and Night Fury pondered the question for a bit.

"What do you think Toothless?" Night Fury whispered to his friend on the comm line.

" _Well, judging by how much of her is in the ground, I'd say she's stuck in about two meters cubed of solid concrete. Heh, I think it'll hold."_ Replied Toothless and Night Fury smiled.

"Yeah, the concrete'll hold."

"Sure, sure, right. Yeah, so, call the police… hey maybe I can get a pic… ture" Started Hammond, but stopped as Night Fury had disappeared from view like mist in the summer.

"What the… ok, that was weird."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	11. Chapter 11

**Viewgeta: IT'S OVER 9000!**

 **(Whoever gets this gets plus points)**

Chapter 11: The Hunt

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Monday, Bork High_

 _Hiccup POV._

It's been two day's since I fought the Gronkle at the docks. Hammond, the guy who helped me back in the docks, saved my life even, came to school like normal, although a bit more giddy than I've seen before. In other news, most of my body, especially my arm was all shades of black, blue and sore like hell from the beating I gave, and received last night.

And to add insult to very large injuries, the Gronkle was set to be released from police custody later this afternoon, on account of there being "not enough evidence" for her to get a conviction. It was even completely denied the fact that the Hellheim's Gate Dragons had a giant as fuck metahuman working for them and she had been put back on the streets where she could do more harm.

 _That was a big waste of time. If criminals are just going to be thrown back onto the streets only moments after they've been captured, then what's the point of all this._ I thought irritated, as I trudged through the halls of the school, my arm sore from being virtually crushed by the Gronkle's superhuman strength and my legs just as sore from all the running, jumping and kicking.

Since the moment I had woken up, I had more time to ponder on the events the night before and one thought plagued my mind.

Am I really cut out for this kind of thing?

I mean, small time guys like the carjackers or the thugs in the dock house I could handle, but the big fish? Nope. The Gronkle had nearly killed me and I was barely able to fight back. She had crushed my arm in several different ways; if I didn't have my metahuman healing power I'd have lost my arm. I was lucky Hammond came by and used his… what did Toothless say again? Oh right _matter reconstruction_.

" _It was Matter reconstruction. I took a scan of the images from your cowl, Hammond was able to_ _break down and reapply subatomic particles as well as break up the molecular structure of elements and rearrange them. Basically he can do anything he wants with matter. I'm still working on an explanation on how he can fly though…"_ He said as he was patching me up back at the Cove.

Comparing myself to the army of criminals and group of metahuman powerhouses, plus the one who happens to be my classmate, I'm just a pathetic mosquito trying to suck all the blood out of an ogre.

I had just made it to my locker and began unloading my stuff very slowly as having trouble doing it with just one arm when I felt a presence to my left. When I looked to see who it was, my heart flew all the way to my throat and I nervously stuttered.

"U-U-Umm, A-Astrid! Hey Astrid! Hi ya Astrid!" I said, trying to act as casual as possible, but I was shaking like a Chihuahua and could barely form a coherent sentence.

"Hakon, are you ok? You look hurt." She asked and I nervously held my arm closer to my body.

"What? I-I'm fine, fit as a fiddle!" I said, trying to be cool by lifting my arms into the air, but a pain shot through my arm and I was forced to bring it down close to my body.

"Ow!"

"You are hurt. Here, let me see." Astrid said, coming closer to me. I turned red as a tomato as she gently held my arm in her bandaged hands and tenderly rolled up the sleeve of my hoodie. I expected a gasp or at least a sign of alarm from her, but she remained cool and collected as she looked at the massive bruise that was my left arm.

"What happened here? Your arm looks like it was smashed by a garbage compactor." She said, carefully poking the black and blue flesh, inciting a gasp of pain from me.

"I-It's nothing. It'll be better soon, I heal pretty fast for a guy like me." I said, remembering the Sunday night I had my arm nearly turned to fine powder by the Gronkle.

"No it's not. We're going to the nurse's office before class starts." She said, grabbing me by my good arm and attempting to drag me away. I removed myself from her grip and she looked at me in agitation.

"It's really nothing Astrid, you don't need to miss class for me. I just… umm… fell down some stairs." I said. As much as I loved Astrid showing genuine concern over me, this was a harrowing situation. If more people were to see my bruises, questions would be raised. And if a certain someone were to see my arm, there's a chance he'd connect me to the Night Fury and my vigilante career would be blown out of the water before it even started. So, I used that dummy excuse to try and run from the situation, but Astrid wouldn't buy it.

"No Hakon, you're coming with me to the nurse's office and that's final." She demanded, trying to grab me by my good arm once more, but I shifted my way out of her reach. Now, this situation might have ended with Astrid getting frustrated enough and (as much as I hate to say it) leave me alone, if not for the surprise appearance of a wild Hammond.

"Am I interrupting something?" He asked, coming up from behind me.

"His arm. He won't let me take him to the nurse's office." Said Astrid, blatantly pointing to my injured arm, which I tried to hide from Hammond's view.

"His ar- woah! It looks like a garbage compactor smashed you! We are definitely taking you to the nurse's office!" He exclaimed

"Umm, she used that metaphor already and really guys, you don't need to do this, I just fell down some stairs, that's all." I said. Ok, worst-case scenario has arrived, but it doesn't look like he's connected the dots yet so I'll play it cool then run for the hills.

"Fell down some stairs my ass, this is serious Hiccup! Wait, it was Stuart wasn't it? Did he do this to get revenge for me punching him out yesterday? Oh man, I'm so sorry Hiccup, but don't worry, I'll take care of that pompous…" I stopped Hammond before he could finish that sentence.

"No, Hammond, it wasn't Snotlout, really, it wasn't. I just… had a rough night." I said, but before they could respond, I rushed off to class. When I got to class, I immediately slumped down into my chair, hating and mentally scolding myself.

 _Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I just pushed away Hammond, the first guy who's been nice to me in a while and also a pretty strong metahuman. And Astrid, the only time I can remember her showing concern for me, I completely ran like an idiot!_ I thought as class began. I averted the gaze of Astrid, who was in first period with me; from what I could see, she looked genuinely concerned and I smashed my head on my desk, softly so it was only I who heard a quiet bang on the tabletop.

 **XXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Lunch_

 _Hiccup POV._

It wasn't easy, but the whole day consisted of dodging question after question from Hammond and a surprisingly concerned Astrid. She's never shown this much concern over me before, hell, she's never shown so much attention to me before, why now? Maybe becoming a metahuman also brings girls closer to me?

I doubt it.

But it was happening and I couldn't argue. However I could be a complete idiot and do what she's done to me for years: ignore her and hope she goes away. Gods why am I doing this? Oh yeah, secret identity.

So here I was sitting at the lunchroom corner table, minding my own business when out of nowhere, Hammond pops up and sits directly in front of me. I try to avoid his piercing gaze, but just like his mother his eyes burned right through my very soul, so I couldn't resist reacting to his presence.

"Umm, so, I kind of met your mother." I said, trying to act as casual as possible. Hammond actually seemed interested as he raised his eyebrow.

"Really? You get scared?"

"She tased a guy in front of me and threatened an entire room full of dirty cops with a desert eagle." I said and Hammond smirked.

"Heh, yup, that's definitely my mother." Laughed Hammond. The happy mood left as soon as it came and we were back to the awkward silence.

"Hakon…"

"It wasn't Snotlout. Really Hammond, it wasn't, I just…" I said, trailing off. What could I say? I was a terrible liar and I couldn't let him notice my injuries correlated with the Night Fury's.

"No, no, no, I know that it wasn't Snotlout. I've got a different question to ask."

"Oh, ok. Well then, fire away." Hammond's face darkened a bit, showing more reluctance then necessary.

"Hakon… how's your life at home?"

Oh. So _this_ is where the conversation is going.

"My home life is fine, thank you very much. And my dad is not _abusive_." I exclaimed. Hammond looked both regretful and pitying as he continued to speak.

"Hakon, I know that he's your only family but if something is happening to you, you don't have to hide it. My mother is in Internal Affairs at the police department, she can protect you if you need it." I placed my hands on his shoulders and looked straight into his eyes, just to get my point across.

"Hammond. My dad is a lot of things, but a bad person isn't one of them; he'd rather shoot himself in the leg than lay a hand on someone who doesn't deserve it. Besides, he isn't home most of the week anyways." I said, murmuring the last sentence. I returned to my seat and continued to enjoy my lunch.

More awkward silence between us, and then:

"Sorry Hakon, I should've got my facts straight first. If you really don't wanna talk about it, I'll stop bothering you." Hammond said, rising from his seat, but I stood up and held him by the shoulder with my good arm.

"No, it's alright. I appreciate your concern, I really do. Its just… there's a lot of things going on right now that I can't let people know about. I hope you understand." I meant most of what I said, and not all of it was a lie so I didn't feel bad about not telling Hammond the truth.

He looked skeptical for half a second, and then an understanding look came over him as he sat back down.

"Yeah, alright. I'll try to sweep this under the rug for now, but if you come to school missing a leg I am so telling my mother." Hammond said with a chuckle. I laughed as well; the thought of me walking around with a peg leg was pretty ridiculous.

"Heh, be my guest." I replied, finally breaking the tension around us.

"Hey Hakon, I'm gonna get some food; I'll be back in a flash." Hammond smiled standing to leave, when I once again called for his attention.

"Hey Hammond!"

"Yeah?"

"Umm…" I hesitated for a moment and Hammond raised an eyebrow.

"You… You don't have to call me Hakon. We're friends right, so call me Hiccup." Hammond grinned like a mad idiot.

"Sure thing Hiccup."

 **XXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Earlier, Commissioner's Office_

 _No POV._

 _Outside the office of commissioner Old Wrinkly Davis, officers, secretaries and the general vicinity of the police department's main office could hear the sounds of angry roaring from one beast of a man, Mogadon the Meathead._

"… _and Stephen?! He looks at the money like it's diseased, then throws it at the dear old padré's face!" shouted Mogadon, slamming his hand on the table of an otherwise disinterested commissioner._

" _Gives the entire squad an earful about 'ethical behavior'! Hell, he even put Flass on probation! I'm telling you Walt, he just ain't fitting in."_

 _The commissioner sighed, stroking his long red beard, looking to Mogadon who stared back in ill temper for Stoic's incorruptible morality._

" _*Sigh, and I thought we could bring him to our side. Take care of it Mogadon, even the smallest ant, can eventually form a colony big enough to take out the anteaters." Said the commissioner, and Mogadon smiled his true smile, one filled with violence and sadism._

" _No problem."_

 _Timeskip_

 _Stoic POV._

In all my life, dealing crooked crooks and crooked cops, I've never wanted to choke the life out of someone as much as I have Mogadon. Well, there is the bastard who killed my wife, but that's another category of hate on it's own. If this were back to the days of our ancestors, the days when Vikings roamed these lands, I'd have had bashed Mogadon's skull in for wanting to be called "uncle Mogadon", and for wrapping his arm around me like we were even relatively friends. Brrr, the very thought of hearing the title "uncle" next to the word "Mogadon" gives me chills.

It was lunch break and I was going out to buy some food in the nearby coffee shop. However, this day was about to get very bad, very fast.

Out of nowhere, a group of men in ski masks came from out of the shadows, wielding baseball bats and wooden planks. I placed my car keys back in my pocket and readied myself for a fight.

"You should watch where you're going lieutenant, a defenseless guy like you would be easy pickings for a bunch of ruffians." Said one of the thugs in false concern. I only glared as one of the masked men handed him a baseball bat, with which he began to pat on his hand.

"You messed with the wrong people lieutenant, now you're gonna have to watch what you do from now on, or this may not end well."

"Hmm, I've got something to say about that meathead. When this is over you should have one of your goons bring you to the veterinarian at the zoo, they'll have no trouble treating a fat gorilla who's been beat black and blue." I retorted and I could see the masked man's eye twitch in anger.

"Funny, but I think your bad case of ethicality deserves a 'special' treatment." With that, one of the masked men jumped off a car roof, trying to land a hit with his baseball bat. I used the briefcase I had with me to deflect the hit and counter attack, sending the first thug flying. Another man came up from behind to try and punch me in the head, but I ducked and pushed him into the car next to me with a well-placed shoulder hit.

"I'm surprised you apes could even pronounce the word 'ethicality'." I jeered. It was man after man trying to pummel me into submission, but I was effectively holding my own.

 _Ha, these bozos are nothing. I was trained to handle more than this._ I thought, smirking, but I was distracted and didn't see the thug I was talking to earlier come from behind me and bashing me with his baseball bat.

 _Then again, it has been a while._

With me disoriented, the rest of the guys I didn't knock out converged and proceded to beat the crap out of me. I could only lie there and try and block the hits to my head as hit upon hit rained down upon me. I think it was after my lungs were bruised that the hits finally stopped.

I couldn't see it, but I could feel my bones ache and the black and blue spots on my skin appear. The first thug I spoke to dropped his baseball bat in front of me, and I could hear him crack his knuckles.

"Next time, think about where you stick your nose in _Stevie_." He said and my anger inside me flared like a bonfire.

 _Mogadon._ I thought angrily. Ha, the idiot probably thought I was out cold and couldn't hear him. Oh, that ignorant meathead will get what's coming to him, much sooner than later.

I could hear the patter of several boots moving away from my prone form. As soon as I was sure they were out of earshot, I slowly pulled myself off the garage floor. I picked my keys from my pocket and sank into my car, looking at my battered body in the rearview mirror.

It was like looking at a Picasso, a really beaten, bloody, angry Picasso. I considered turning the ignition and running down Mogadon and his cronies, but I was better than that.

There are other ways to humiliate a meathead.

 **XXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Unknown Location_

 _No POV._

The Gronkle was not happy.

She was the opposite of happy; she was very, very angry. Angry that she was stuck into the ground by two wannabe superheroes, and that it took a lot of effort, money and dead meat to get her out of jail.

She was also afraid.

Not afraid of the puny Night Fury or his partner (whom will one day be crushed under her foot). No, she was afraid of explaining this whole shenanigan to her boss.

The Gronkle stepped through the entrance of the Dragon's base, Hellheim's Gate and into the main chamber of the complex where her… _associates_ waited patiently for her to arrive.

"Look who's here…" Spoke a young male voice.

"… the 'Indestructible' Gronkle." Finished a similar sounding voice.

The Gronkle only grunted in response as she kept trudging forward, ignoring the aggravating jeers from the two young men. She already had enough crap to deal with today as it was.

"Hold it." Spoke a gruff, red-haired man, trying to step in front of the Gronkle, but she carried on, ignoring the red-haired man flaring in annoyance.

The Gronkle had finally reached the end of the room, opening the door double doors as gently as she possibly could. She then found herself in another chamber, where a figure shrouded in darkness sat on a black leather throne, legs crossed and hands on the armrests of the throne. Beside the figure sat a petite looking girl, wearing a blue hooded shoulder cape, embroidered with yellow across the edges. She also had on a steel blue shirt and dark grey camouflage pants with a skull emblazoned belt. She looked relatively normal, aside from the fact that on both her forearms, there were hundreds of spikes protruding from them.

The Gronkle audibly gulped before dropping to one knee and bowing her head.

"Queen…" Gronkle said, in an unusually normal voice. The figure in the throne nodded towards the petite girl sitting beside her, who then proceeded to stand up.

"You've got some explaining to do Gronkle." Said the petite girl, in a slightly modified voice.

"IT WAS STUPID PUNY NIGHT FURY! HIM AND FRIEND!" Shouted the Gronkle, standing in defiance. However, she immediately regretted her action as the figure tapped the armrests on the throne in annoyance.

"Remember who you stand before Gronkle. It'd be wise to keep your tone in check." Scolded the petite girl and the Gronkle sank back into her calmer demeanor.

"Sorry Nadder." Muttered the Gronkle and the figure stopped tapping the armrest.

"The queen does not care about your excuses, the only reason you're here is because she had unnecessarily wasted resources that the Dragons would need in the coming events." Scolded the petite girl, now known as the Deadly Nadder, an enforcer of the Dragons.

"Gronkle know, but Night Fury and partner sink Gronkle into floor." Said the Gronkle

"You should have been able to fight them off. You're an enforcer of the Hellheim's Gate Dragons, not some two bit punk hustler."

"But the Night Fury…" Started the Gronkle, but the figure had had enough of this conversation. The figure uncrossed her legs, slamming a red high-heeled shoe onto the ground. The entire room fell silent as the figure rose from her throne and as her features were no longer shrouded in darkness, the Gronkle and Nadder shrunk away.

To say she was stunning would be an understatement; the woman who the Gronkle referred to as "queen" was pale skinned, smooth and free from any blemish or marks, save for a prominent scar adorning the left side of her jaw. She was also tall, maybe six feet tall or higher without her deep red heels. She wore a backless red dress, aside from the fabric wrapped around her shoulder. The dress accentuated every curve on her body and reached all the way to the floor, but it was slit along the side so those in the room could see her leg extending from within.

"Gronkle… I am quite irked by your constant prattling, and you know how I do not like to be _irked_." Spoke the queen in a silky foreign accent (British).

"Y-Yes queen." Stuttered the Gronkle. The queen elegantly strode to the Gronkle as the latter tried to look as small as possible in front of the queen (which was very hard considering her size)

"Oh Melanie. I know talking isn't you're finest quality…" Started the queen, standing right in front of the Gronkle. Suddenly, the queen raised her hand and backhanded the Gronkle. A puff of smoke and a colossal shadow later, the Gronkle was flying across the room, impacting the walls and she would have gone through them if they weren't reinforced to withstand blows such as this.

"So stick to what you know and do something productive." Said the queen, angrily striding to her throne as the Gronkle ran out of the room as fast as she could.

"Honey, be a dear and have someone clean up that wall, it reeks of incompetence." Ordered the queen and the Nadder nodded.

"I'll get right on that." Said the Nadder calmly, as if the events earlier didn't even happen.

"Right. Oh and I have a few more things for you to do. We need to be more… ruthless."

"My queen?"

"You heard me. I may not have said it, but this 'Night Fury' character presents a problem to our organization." The queen crossed her legs and began tapping the armrests on her throne.

"How so?"

"If one man had the gall to take us on, who's to say more won't follow in his example and begin weeding out our operations."

"What will you have me do?" Asked the Nadder and the queen smiled.

"Speed up our agenda. Completely solidify our hold on this city before we leave it for good. I want all the 'rivals' in this city within our ranks, or dead at my feet." Said the queen and the Nadder nodded.

"What about the Night Fury?"

"Oh right, that nuisance. Place more of our people on alert for any flying rodents. He'll be dead within the week."

Yes my queen." Saluted the Nadder. With that, the Deadly Nadder left the room, leaving the queen to her own devices.

The queen lounged back on her throne, with only the sound of her thoughts to keep her company.

 _This Night Fury poses a problem, but he is but a minor hindrance for the plan, the plebian criminals can take care of him. This city will be mine before the year's end. And if anyone stands in my way, they will be hunted down and exterminated like the vermin they are._

 _So declares the Red Death._

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry it's been a while, life's been hectic.**

Chapter 12: Knights In Broken Armor

 _Timeskip, Two Days Later_

 _Berk_

 _Hiccup POV._

A noteworthy fact here, word spreads fast amongst the criminal underworld. Nearly every crook in Berk knew that someone called the "Night Fury" had, aside from blowing up a truck full of guns, got the Terrible Terror arrested, beat up the Gronkle and stuck her in six cubic feet of concrete. Most people dismissed me as an urban legend, that there's a whole other explanation as to why the Gronkle was beaten. Some people said it was a rival gang, the police or, heck, even divine retribution. But there was one thing everyone was sure of, someone was gunning for the criminals of Berk, and this guy was a serious player.

This was the general idea I tried to keep in my mind as I was stalking a van packed with drugs casually driving along the street. I was following it from the rooftops so I was virtually unseen by anyone street level and with my natural night vision, I had no problems seeing in the darkness.

Finally, after forty-five minutes of non-stop parkour, I was breathing heavily as I spied the truck pull into a warehouse, parking itself in the loading bay.

"Finally." I huffed, putting my hands to my knees to try and get some rest.

" _You ok?"_ asked Toothless and I nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. Just… give me a sec." I huffed while thinking:

 _Am I really cut out for this._

I know, this is kind of a bad time to be thinking about this, but it's been on my mind ever since the day before. I mean, seriously, the only things I've got are a semi-bullet proof suit, black trench coat, high-tech mask, about twelve online videos worth of martial arts expertise and an overly sarcastic metahuman; how can I expect myself to fight criminal organizations more numerous than ants in a garden, and each ant has the strength of a tiger.

"I can't do it…" I said.

" _What?"_

"I can't… I just…" I said, the words not coming to my mind right away, but Toothless understood what I was thinking.

" _Oh no, you're not chickening out on me! What happened to all that crap about 'we've got power so we should fight'?"_ shouted Toothless in anger.

"Gods no! I still believe in all that stuff… it's just that I don't know if I'm ready just yet. I mean, don't get me wrong, I can handle small time guys who can barely hold their own in a fight, but the really big guns? I was nearly decimated by the Gronkle and if Hammond hadn't saved me? I'd be a red splat on the docks right now." I replied, taking a seat on the ledge and staring into the city.

" _*Groan, heavens help me. Look, I know that you feel…_ discouraged _when you got your ass kicked, but seriously? Giving up? That is so juvenile; it's too early to give up, it's like you said: a lot of people will get hurt if the people with power just stand by and watch. If we get hit hard along the way that's fine, we can just get back up and hit harder."_ Toothless' statement really hit me hard. He was right, I was giving up too early, I still had a long way to go before I could really help this city and doing it from behind a desk or a computer screen wouldn't cut it. There needs to be real work and real effort put into changing this city, and we're probably the only people who can do it.

"Thanks, I needed a pep talk." I grinned, standing up.

" _Wasn't a pep talk, but you're welcome anyways."_ I raised my hand, aiming my grappling hook at the roof of the warehouse and fired. The hook lodged itself in the ledge of the building. I pulled the line twice to check its stability, and when I was satisfied I activated the reel, pulling myself across the gap between buildings. As I flew past the gap, I panicked a bit as I could see myself rushing towards the wall instead of the roof. I landed feet first on the wall with a soft thud mentally slapping myself for nearly turning into a big splat on the wall.

"Great. I can become a martial arts master in less than fifteen minutes, but I can't use a stupid grappling hook." I grumbled, swinging myself towards one of the windows, peeking my head to peer through the glass. I could see about a dozen shady looking men with guns wrapped around their shoulders unload several crates off the truck I was following.

"Joy." I muttered dispassionately. I looked around the warehouse for a way to sneak in without attracting too much attention. I turned to sonic vision when I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere, when my eyes caught an air vent, painted the same color as the warehouse which is why I couldn't see it that well before. I swung myself over to the vent, ripping it off its hinges and making my way inside the building.

Through sonic vision, I was able to see my path towards an exit, right on top of a large shelf of boxes and packages. As soon as I landed on top of the shelf, I could see that there were way more thugs than I had thought, about fourteen or more and packing serious firepower.

" _Wow, that's a lot of guys with guns."_ Muttered Toothless

"Yeah, and this time I don't have a six hundred pound wrecking ball of anger to help me out." I replied, thinking back to how the Gronkle stomped over most of the enemies I had to face back at the dock house. I scanned the environment, looking for ways to take them out, when I spotted an empty storage shelf. I raised my arm and fired, the hook wrapping itself around one of the bars of the shelf. I took an experimental pull, the line being just tight enough that I could tell the bar wouldn't break when I put my full weight on it. I took a deep breath, said a little prayer to Forseti (Norse god of Law and Justice) and leaped off my ledge. I adjusted my grappling hook so while I was falling the line was slowly being pulled, meaning instead of falling straight down I travelled in an arc, directly towards one unsuspecting thug. He shouted as I slammed into him, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and fully activating my grappling hook, reeling us both full power to the darkness of the roof and slamming his head on one of the metal bars of the shelf.

As the first thug crashed into a pile of crates at the bottom of the shelf, the rest of the thugs were looking around the warehouse, panicked and alarmed.

"What was that?" One asked, waving his assault rifle around.

"Check it out." Replied another, going over to the thug I dropped and poking him with his gun.

"Ya think he's dead?"

"I dunno man, but there's somethin' in ere' with us."

"It's that Night Fury guy! It has ta be!"

"No way man, the 'Night Fury' is just a myth."

"Well then how do ya explain this? Tis is exactly what da boss said we should be on the lookout fer. Alright guys, spread out, find whatever did dis."

 _Well look at that, they were warned I was coming. Guess I gotta be careful now, one shot from those guns will punch a hole right through me._ I thought, furrowing my brows in worry. I was lucky though that these idiots decided to spread out to search the entire warehouse, leaving several of them alone and secluded.

 _Alright, stealth time._ I silently crawled along the shelf toward a lone thug as he treaded carefully, gun raised and eyes darting around. I stopped right on top of him and jumped off my shelf. I caught him completely off guard as I brought him to the ground and punched his head, taking him out instantly. I could hear alarmed footsteps coming from the aisle next to me so I kicked the crate next to me, sending it flying into the legs of the thug on the other side. As he was pushed back, I slid under the opening I had created; standing up and smashing the thug's head on the crate I kicked him with, turning the crate into splinters and rendered him unconscious.

 _Three down, about…_ Suddenly, my danger sense flared and I turned to see a thug behind me raise his assault rifle. Time seemed to slow as I could see his finger pulling back the trigger, and with barely milliseconds to react, I picked up a large piece of wood from the crate I smashed and threw it with all my might. The piece of wood sailed ten feet (three meters/yards) and hit him right in the head. His shot went wild and I bolted towards him, jumping and kneeing him in the head, knocking him out. I raised my hand and launched my grappling hook, pulling me back onto the shelves, just as my danger sense went off and all the thugs in the warehouse converged on the three I had knocked out.

"Oh gods…" Said one, backing away from one of his unconscious compatriots.

"S-Stay alert! It could be anywhere!" Exclaimed another shakily backing away and going back on patrol.

"Ok then, four down, about ten more to go." I muttered, looking down on the thugs who were left over.

"This is gonna be easy." I said sarcastically, planning my next move.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Suburbs_

 _Stoic POV._

" _I go' the info ye asked fer Stoic. Says ere' tha' our ol' pal Mogadon as' a poker game every Wednesday night with is' pals in the burbs. Guy's practically yer neighbor."_ Spoke Gobber though the scanner in my car.

I hung the speaker into the receiver and bore my eyes into the house I was currently parked across the street from. I've been digging up information on Mogadon for the past two days, using the good cops left in the station, some of the bad ones and bits and pieces of gossip Gobber picks up here and there from the armory. All sources lead to the point where Mogadon would be at his most vulnerable, where he won't have the protection of that rat Old Wrinkly, his late night poker game where he was about a half hour drive from his house in the city. Even though it's been two days, the bruises he and his cronies gave me back in the parking lot still ached like new. I looked to my passenger seat to see the exact baseball bat that Mogadon beat me with, small bloodstains still coating the surface.

Oh I'm going to enjoy this.

It was another forty minutes of waiting, but finally the door to the house I'd been watching opened, and out stepped Mogadon with his cocky grin and a college football jacket.

He was laughing and saying his goodbyes to his friends and shut the door behind him. He stuck his hands into his pockets and made his way to his car, unlocking the door and starting the engine. As he drove off into the distance, I waited for a few seconds before revving my engine and following, turning off my headlights so he wouldn't catch me following him.

It was about another ten minutes of driving before the conditions were perfect. The road was empty, with not a piece of civilization for months and the roads were slippery tonight, as it had rained some time ago. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and accelerated, the front of my car coming up just beside Mogadon's trunk. Suddenly, I jerked the wheel sideways, slamming the front of my car against Mogadon, forcing him into a spin out. I immediately hit the brakes to stop myself from spinning out as well. I watched as Mogadon tried to gain control of his car, but failed miserably, launching him into the side of the road. I slowly moved closer, parking my car directly in front of the crash site, turning on my headlights. I could see Mogadon kick the driver's side door off its hinges, collapsing into the damp earth below him. I calmly opened my car door as well, taking the baseball bat with me and dragging it across the ground as I walked towards Mogadon as he began to stand up.

"Sorry bout' that. Didn't see you there, I'm sure it won't happen again." I said as Mogadon stood up, glaring at me, however with a sadistic grin plastered on his face.

"Heh, well if it isn't Lieutenant Haddock! Haven't seen you at the department for the past few days, something happen _Stevie_?" He asked, his eyes drifting to the baseball bat in my hands and I threw the weapon onto the ground in front of him.

"Why don't you come and find out, _partner_." I growled. Mogadon only grinned even wider as he picked up the baseball bat and patted it on his hand.

"Alright, this time I'll finish the job _PARTNER_!" He shouted, charging towards me.

I smirked as he swung his baseball bat wide, putting all his power into that one swing, but leaving him into an awkward position. I stepped back, his swing missing by a mile and leaving him wide open for a punch to the ribcage. As he reeled back from the hit, I hit him in the face and continued my onslaught of punches, not leaving him any room to fight back. He was able to get lucky and swing the bat at my head, but the swing was weak and he didn't expect me to catch it in my hand. Mogadon's eyes widened, as I pulled on the bat, yanking him closer and landing an upper cut. His body swayed a bit, but with a groan he fell over, unconscious and beaten.

"Eat that ya pansy." I spat, turning to leave, when I suddenly had a very sinister idea.

When I did leave, I left Mogadon tied up and naked in the mud with his car keys buried in a ditch.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Threat

 _Timeskip Three Months_

 _BCPD Police Department_

 _Stoic POV._

A majority of officers were once again called to the meeting room of the department. Last time we were all here that crazy internal affairs director threatened us with a tazer and a loaded gun. This time, however, was not a regularly scheduled announcement, but a strategy meeting for a new problem that recently appeared. At first most cops dismissed him as a story, an urban myth the hobos of the slums started after the Gronkle was taken down. But after two months, more criminals turned up at our doorstep, more drugs and weapons were being destroyed by the shipment and more evidence against several dirty cops slid under the IA's office door.

That last part is what started this whole meeting in the first place. Some of the more paranoid of the lot were afraid that some of their dirty little secrets would find itself on IA director Thorinson's desk. Ergo, they send their grievances to the Commisioner and guess who the rat puts in charge of fixing this problem?

"Alright people, we're all here today for one reason and one reason only, to catch the Night Fury." I said and I saw several nods amongst the croud of officers.

"Good, we all understand each other. Now, here's what we know about the Night Fury: he operates between the hours of nine P.M. to two A.M. He only targets criminals or illegal operations within the city and so far has arrested thirty eight known criminals, uncovered eleven corrupt officers, stopped fourteen weapons and drugs shipments and revealed the locations of six storage houses normally used for the receiving and storage of illegal items. However, all the people he brings in come in with brutalized bodies and broken bones and the shipments he intercepts all end up a pile of rubble and destroyed evidence. As Detective Mendoza can attest to." I said, smirking as I stepped to the side, revealing Marcus "Mogadon" Mendoza on a wheelchair chair in front of the whole meeting room.

After I had beat his ass a few months back, he requested a transfer and it was authorized, much to the chagrin of Old Wrinkly. Last time I saw him he was nursing several bandages and a black eye, now, added to his previous injuries, he had a sling wrapped around his right arm and a thick cast engulfing a majority of his right leg, hence the wheelchair.

"It's not human." Mogadon grumbled, and the whole room began chuckling, hell even I had to keep myself in check so I didn't grin like an idiot.

"Settle down, settle down, it's not *ahem, a laughing matter. So, tell us _all_ what happened to you Mogadon." I said, and Mogadon glared murderously at me, but he regained his composure and calmly recounted the circumstances of his injuries.

"It's just as I said in my report…"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Five Days Ago_

 _A Warehouse Loading Bay_

 _No POV._

It was the late hours of the night as a group of criminals were overseeing the sale of illegal goods to another gang. However, as the deal was going down, a short wail of a siren and all the criminals turned to see a brown sedan pulling into view. The car stopped in front of the criminals and out came Detective Mogadon, eying the criminals dangerously.

" _It was four nights ago when I had come across an illegal items deal between two undeicernable criminal groups."_

Some of the armed criminals' hands inched over to their guns, but the more senior of the lot just waited calmly for something to happen. Soon enough, Mogadon's murderous glare was replaced by a devious grin and the oldest looking criminal stepped forward, all the while motioning for the rest of his compatriots to continue the deal. The lead criminal then fished into his pocket and pulled out a large wad of hundreds, placing it into Mogadon's outstretched hand. Mogadon carefully counted the bills, his grin growing wider and wider the higher the amount in his hand went.

" _It was just as I was about to apprehend the offenders,_ he _arrived at the scene."_

From the air, a shadow leaped off the roof overlooking the deal and crashed down on Mogadon's car. The roof gave way as the shadow's landing left a huge dent and shattered all the windows.

" _I couldn't think as I looked at the… thing that had just destroyed my vehicle. It was nothing I'd ever seen before. At first glance it looked just like a man in black, but when I really looked, I didn't see a man… I saw a demon. And it stared right at me."_

The Night Fury's glowing eyes settled on Mogadon, the glowing lines scarring themselves into the corrupt detective's mind. However, the calm terror did not last long as the rest of the criminals sprung into action.

" _One of the offenders, whom I had not yet disarmed, produced a gun and attempted to kill the monster."_

The lead criminal pulled out his pistol and opened fire at Night Fury, but as Mogadon jumped to the side to avoid being hit by the shot, Night Fury calmly stepped off the destroyed car, only jerking some parts of his body out of the way of the bullets. As the Night Fury moved closer and closer, more of the criminals began to open fire with their weapons. However, the small arms fire was too slow for the Night Fury's enhanced senses as he simply stopped walking and began ducking and weaving away from the bullets.

Soon enough, the criminals' guns ran out of ammo and they uselessly clicked in their hands. As they fumbled for an extra magazine, Night Fury stood up straighter, fixed his trenchcoat a bit and glared at the criminals.

"My turn." Growled the Night Fury, his ears flattening like an angry animal. All the criminals' eyes widened as some of them finally loaded their guns, but it was too late.

" _It was a massacre. It was jumping around, tearing people apart without breaking a sweat!"_

Night Fury pounced, barreling forward at the nearest criminal and disarming him and punching his head. As the other criminals blundered about, Night Fury grabbed the first criminal by the front of his shirt and spun around, throwing him as he completed one revolution. As the unconcious criminal landed on several of his companions, Night Fury leaped into the air and drop kicked the nearest criminal in the chest, pushing him a few feet back. Now the criminals had abandoned their firearms and resorted to hand to hand combat.

Big mistake.

As they tried to gang up on Night Fury as he was on the ground, he just did a chinese get up, startling the criminals. It was then an all out melee between a crowd of scared criminals and one ass kicking vigilante.

Block left. Roundhouse kick to the head. Duck a wild punch. Uppercut, straight, then left elbow to the temple. It was a flurry of attacks and counter attacks that slowly whittled down the numbers of the criminals. The flowing trenchcoat was a large distraction for most of the criminals, getting in the way of their line of sight and making the Night Fury looked bigger than he actually was.

Grab an oustretched arm and break. Reverse kick to a stomach. The fight went on until every single criminal was incapacitated, either with broken bones, torn muscles or severe concussions.

" _Ten guys. There were ten guys versus one and it beat them all in less than three minutes. It was a monster. And then it turned to me."_

As the Night Fury looked upon his handiwork, Mogadon, completely forgotten amongst all the fighting peeked out from his hiding place, gun in hand and taking aim. Mogadon pulled the trigger, a final shot permiating the night. For a few moments, it seemed as though the shot would hit its mark, but Night Fury simply bent his body backwards, the bullet missing by a mile. Night Fury began moving towards Mogadon and the detective unloaded all the rounds in his gun, but just like those of the criminals, they all missed their mark. When Night Fury reached Mogadon, who uselessly clicked the trigger of his weapon, in too much shock to remember to reload, Night Fury simply bent over so that the barrel of the gun was pointed to his head.

"W-What are you?!" Mogadon screamed, whipping the butt of his gun at the Night Fury's head, but Night Fury simply caught the gun inches before his skull and wrenched it from Mogadon's grip.

"I'm the one who's about to break you into pieces _Detective_." Snarled Night Fury before going to work on Mogadon.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _BCPD Police Department_

 _Stoic POV._

Okay, as much as I hate Mogadon, I still felt bad for the ignoramous. But my pity was fleeting and I went back to chuckling with the rest of the room at Mogadon's rather exaggerated story.

"I know what I saw. That thing was a monster! A monster!" He shouted, but everyone just kept on laughing. Finally, when I felt as though he was frustrated enough, I put order back into the room.

"Alright! Alright! That's enough. Thank you Detective, that will be all." I glared at Mogadon and he glared back. As much as he hates me, he isn't stupid enough to try anything here and now, so he could only grumble and wheel himself out of the room. As soon as Mogadon was out of sight, I turned my attention back to the crowd of officers to explain the plan to them.

As each officer did their normal nightly routine, they would also keep an eye out for any Night Fury signs or sightings. If any signs are found, then the officers should first radio for backup and follow the target at a safe distance. They are only to engage if the Night Fury poses an imminent threat to others or the officers themselves. After working out a few minor details with some of the officers, the meeting was adjourned and all the officers filed out of the meeting room. I, however, stayed behind to tidy up and organize whatever evidence there was about the Night Fury. As I was working, I heard the clacking of shoes coming towards me and I turned to see none other than Leslie Thorinson approaching.

"Lieutenant Haddock yes?" She asked, looking right at me.

"The one and only." I replied, standing a bit straighter.

"I see you're in charge of catching this 'Night Fury' character."

"Yes. Why? You wanna donate some resources to help the operation a bit?" I asked saractically.

"Actually I came here to tell you I hope you fail." The bluntness of her statement startled me and it took a moment for me to fully process it.

"Excuse me? Fail? This person is a criminal and it's my job to bring him to justice. I assume you can understand how the justice system works." I said in a hostile tone, but she didn't seem at all affected.

"Yes I know how it works, but you have to admit, the Night Fury brings in more criminals in one night than the police can do in a week. He's helping the city more than this rotten department and I think arresting him is a mistake. Hell, he's even giving me more dirty cops than I can arrest."

"Fine, I'll admit, he does a lot of good taking those crooks off the street and out of the department, but his methods are… dissagreeable. If he really wanted to bring justice he should just join the force, not go out every night in a halloween costume and break people in half." I was pretty adamant about my point of view. As much as I hated how bad the corruption was, I still won't condone the use of violence as a way to bring justice. Despite being seen by a lot as a large, oaf of a man, I prefer to solve my problems with words rather than violence.

"Right then, I'd rather not get into a longer argument, I've got things to do and people to persecute. I didn't come here to talk about your investigation." I raised an eyebrow at the statement.

"Oh really? Then what have you come to me for?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"I want to offer you a job." If I was drinking something right now, I'd have spit it all over Atty. Thorinson's face.

"A what?! A job?! At internal affairs?! Ho ho ho, sorry ma'am, but I'd prefer to live until retirement thank you very much."

"No, no, you misunderstand. I don't want you in the IA, think of it more as a… temporary partnership." Now that got me confused.

"Say what?"

"Look, I haven't been in this city for long, so I'm pretty out of my element when it comes to the people here. But you, on the other hand, were born and raised here, so you know this place inside out. And, from your records, you seem to be the cleanest cop here. Plus your friend Gobber vouched for you." She said matter-of-factly and I pressed my hand to my forehead.

"Gobber you pillock." I groaned before sighing in defeat.

"Oh don't be so glum Lieutenant, this is still just a temporary partnership. Besides, I had heard some talk that you and your last partner had somewhat of a… dissagreement. So I assume the position is still open." Said Atty. Thorinson smirking. I raised an eyebrow at her, not understanding when or how she had learned about what happened between me and Mogadon.

"*Sigh, fine. I'll accept your little 'partnership' offer. But you better not get in the way of me doing my job, and don't even think about treating me like one of your minions at internal affairs."

"Wouldn't dream of it." She replied innocently

 _Ooooh boy, what have I gotten myself into now._ I mentally groaned as I continued to fix the stack of evidence about the Night Fury, with my new partner looking over my shoulder.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Outskirts of Berk_

 _Hiccup POV._

" _This is a terrible idea."_

" _A really, really, really bad idea."_

"Oh come on, it isn't that bad."

" _Ha-ha-ha, funny. You can tell me that same thing when I pick you up at the city morgue. Oh wait, you can't cause you'll be dead. Moron."_

 _Prick…_ I thought as I carefully sneaked across the courtyard of a magnificent, yet malevolent looking mansion on the outskirts of Berk. Toothless and I, for the past several minutes of travel it took to get here, were arguing about how bad of an idea this was.

What is this idea? Well, let me start from the semi-beginning. For the past few months I've been stuck in a sort of superhero rut. Beat up low level thugs, find their bosses, beat their bosses, beat their bosses' bosses and start then again the next week. It was repettetive and getting nowhere in my grand plan of saving the city and all that. So, in the middle of History class, I came up with a brilliant idea, which after school I shared with Toothless. He tried to treat me for a severe concussion, said I was crazy, but I was determined to go through with it.

The plan?

A few nights ago I had "aquired" some information, regarding an important event that would be going down soon. It was a gathering of the biggest gang bosses and most corrupt officials in the city. Anybody who had an army of thugs or a piece of the city in their pockets would be having dinner at a mansion in the outskirts of the city.

And I fully intended to crash said dinner.

So here I was, hiding behind a hedge in the main courtyard and observing the layout of the mansion with both my normal and sonic vision. There were about seven cars in the courtyard, but barely any guards. And why would there be a need for guards? No one would be stupid enough to go against the biggest and most dangerous crime bosses in the city, hell, maybe even the country.

I'm pretty stupid though.

I slowly crouched walked to the car closest to me, a long stretch limo with a carefree looking driver sleeping at the front seat. I had also brought something with me, but that didn't really hamper my stealth. He didn't look dangerous, but one look with sonic vision and I could see the gun holstered on his waist. He left the car door ajar to let Berk's cool air flow into the car; I smirked at his stupidity as I quickly threw the door open and wrapped my arm around his neck.

I could feel him struggle as I cut of the blood flow to his brain, but he could do nothing as he slowly got weaker and weaker until he passed out in my arms. I carefully placed him back into the driver's seat and picked my next target.

It was practically childs play from here on, most of the "guards" were underpaid drivers with the alertness of a box of rocks (and maybe brains the size of pebbles). After subduing the twelve guards on site, I moved to a large window overlooking the dining room. I could hear the mumble of conversation coming from within and I peeked into the window to get a better look.

The first person I noticed was Commisioner Old Wrinkly, no surprise there. Next in the table arrangement did raise an eyebrow: Grethel Goldflower, an old aristocrat-type millionare who donated several projects to the city. There were rumors here and there that she had big underworld connections, but no one really expected them to be _this_ big. Goldflower was supposedly in her late fifties, however she still looked like she was in her early thirties. She had flawless, smooth skin, the shade of pale ivory. Her curvy blck hair fell past her shoulders was rather thick and glossy. She wore a beige, sparkling dress that accentuated her form. I forced my eyes not to linger on her any more and continued to survey the rest of the guests.

Next on the table was the second biggest mob boss in the city, next to the Red Death, Alvin Tanner the Treacherous. He was the leader of "The Outcasts"; they were basically like the Dragons but less organized, not too dissimilar to the city's viking ancestors. Alvin started organization as a prison gang when he was sent to Trevor Asylum or "Outcast Island" when he was a young man. After he was "reformed", Alvin's gang began to grow and grow until he took control of the entire east side of Berk.

The person on the seat directly facing Alvin made me chuckle a bit; it was my old pal the Terrible Terror, probably here to represent the Red Death and the Hellheim's Gate Dragons. Recent events have led me to belive that Red Death's goons are moving in on Alvin's territory, so I assume Terror is here to try and patch things up before Alvin starts a gang war.

The final two seats were occupied by, who I assumed were Viggo and Ryker Grimmborn. They both headed "The Hunters", a quite notorious gang within Berk. But they weren't known for their violent members, in fact, The Hunters were more black market affilated. Anything that passes through the city, The Hunters were probably the ones helping it along. Whether it be information or illegal goods, The Hunters always have a hand in moving and distributing it. Viggo was the brains of the operation, he was said to know every single transaction ever to happen between every single crook, boss and corrupt offical in the city. Ryker on the other hand, was the muscle of the gang. He provided security for The Hunters and if anyone wanted to pick a fight with them, they'd have to get through the seventh most dangerous man _in the world_.

Once I had accounted for all the guests and made sure there were no remaining guards, I set my plan into motion. First I set down the object I had brought with me on the ground behind me and faced it towards the window. Then, from a pouch along my waist, I picked out a small device, about as the same size as a plastic bottlecap and carefully placed it on the window of the dinning room. I held it there for a few moments, then quickly retracted my hand, the adhesive of the device sticking it to the surface of the glass.

 _Ok, the device is on. Now how do I…_ I thought, remembering Toothless' description of the device.

" _This little widget is an experiment of mine. Attatch it to any surface that isn't more than six inches thick and it picks up any sounds coming from the room adjacent to you. Now to listen in, you just have to tune into its broadcast frequency with your cowl like this…"_

I pressed two fingers on both sides of my cowl, right on the rotating circular bumps. I held them there for a few seconds, then something suddenly popped up on my display in my cowl HUD. It took a while for my eyes to adjust to the new image, but eventually I saw that it was a diagram of the radio frequencies in my area. I tweaked around the diagram until I arrived at the numbers Toothless specified earlier, and slowly I could make out several distinct voices. I then switched into sonic mode and observed the meeting.

"… we can begin then?" Asked the voice of Alvin.

"Yes, I think I'm ready for dessert." Replied a female voice, Grethel.

"As are we." Spoke Ryker Grimborn, his brother Viggo nodding in agreement.

"Great, I'll have some too! What is for dessert anyways?" Asked the Terror and I could hear Alvin grunt in annoyance.

"Well, I might have you roasted over the fire if you don't shut up." Barked Alvin and I could see the Terror recoil.

"Mr. Tanner, if you could refrain from threatening our other guest. This is a dinner party not a schoolyard brawl." Reprimanded Old Wrinkly.

" _Guest?_ Bah, he's just a pathetic weasel Red Death sent so she could hide behind her 'enforcers'." Alvin scoffed and I heard Viggo sigh.

"As per usual, Lady Red is unable to join us due to her preference of keeping her anonymity." Said Viggo.

"Ha! Anonymity! I bet she doesn't even exist, that all the 'Dragons' are being led by a ghost."

"Well we're the top gang in the city. You're just second fiddle to us." Mumbled Terror, but Alvin still heard the snide comment.

"Why you little…!" Alvin violently stood up, shaking all the

"Please boys, no fighting at the table, I'd hate to clean up another one of your messes." Chastized Grethel and the table quieted, Alvin grumbling angrily but taking his seat on the table anyways.

"Thank you Miss Goldenflower. Now, aside from the Dragons moving in on The Outcasts, there's one little problem that we have yet to discuss." Said Viggo and the rest of the table nodded.

"Yeah, this 'Night Fury' has been a big pain in the ass for us." Said Terror.

 _Oh joy, they're talking about me. This should be good._ I thought, but continued to listen to their conversation intently.

"For once I agree with the little weasel. That Night Pest is really hitting me where it hurts and with that Red Bitch moving in on my territory, it's taking all my manpower just to keep operations running." Alvin slammed his hand on the table just for emphasis.

"Well from what I've gathered, you aren't the only one being hit hard Alvin. Many of our 'assets' in the department have been rooted out, and I hear he's getting quite close to rooting you out as well Commisioner." Spoke Viggo, lazily playing around with his food.

"It's a problem we are trying to solve at the department, I've got one of my best men on the case." Assured the Commisioner.

"Well tell him to work harder. Otherwise it will not be long before we're the ones being ratted out." Said Grethel

"Ha! Us? We're untouchable." Laughed the Commisioner and I smirked inside my cowl.

 _We'll see about that._ I thought, activating the other function on my listening device. A high pitched whine began to eminate from the device. The windows began to rattle and all the dinner guests looked around in confusion. The whining went on for a few seconds until the glass window began shaking furously, finally shattering into millions of shards. Now the whining was unbearable, causing all the lights in the room to shatter like the window and the guests to clamp their hands over their ears. When I saw that all the lights were out, I shut down the device and let the ringing in everyone's ears subside. As soon as it did, I ran in front of the broken window and pulled out a switch from one of the pockets around my waist.

 _Showtime._ I thought, taking a sharp breath as I flipped the switch. The portable spotlight I had brought earlier turned on and bathed the dining room in a bright light, completely blinding the guests and giving me an outline.

"What the hell? Who are you?" Shouted Alvin.

"A concerned citizen." I replied and I looked around the room to see the Terrible Terror on the ground in… well, terror.

"N-Not you again! Y-You're gonna pay for knocking me out!" He shouted and I smirked under my mask. I decided not to respond to his statement because I was running out of time before they realize that they could actually just fight back.

"You _people_ are eating the heart out of Berk. Feasting on it's life and leaving nothing but rot and bone. Well that time is over. Each and every one of you all will pay for your crimes and if the system is too broken to judge you fairly, I'll not hesitate to take the law into my hands." I growled and most of them had incredulous looks on their faces.

"And what can you do? You're just one man?" Said Grethel and I smirked in my mask.

"Yes I am one man. But I'm the one man who will shatter you all like glass. Mark my words, this city is no longer under your control, as of this moment, the Night Fury is coming for your heads." With that, I flipped the switch of the spotlight, abruptly shutting it down. Using my natural night vision, I could see that they were all in a panic, Ryker and Alvin pulling out their respective concealed weapons and firing. However, because their eyes had adjusted to the blinding spotlight, they couldn't see anything and their shots missed me by a mile. I dodged them easily, running out of the hole I made in the mansion, grabbing my spotlight and grappling to the roof of the mansion to exit from the other side to avoid running through the dense woods that surrounded the back of the mansion.

" _I heard shots, are you dead yet?"_ asked Toothless over the comm line.

"Nope, I think all in all the message went through."

" _Was it really a good idea antagonizing the most powerful people in the city? Hell, maybe even the entire country?"_ I could sense genuine concern behind Toothless' normally sarcastic tone and I gave him the most serious answer I could think of.

"Probably not."

" _You moron."_

 **XXXXXXXXXXX**

 _The Next Day_

 _BCPD Police Department_

 _Stoic POV._

"I want this Night Fury found and I want him found _now_!" Shouted the Commisioner, slamming his hand down on his desk. Today the old bat was extra pissed off and he was pushing me harder than ever before to find the Night Fury. I'm assuming it had something to do with the fact that the Night Fury had paid a visit to the Commisioner and his "associates" last night and threatened their lives. They tried to cover it up, say that he threatened the city leadership, but everyone's already heard about the real story and if I didn't know any better I'd say that the Night fury is about to have everybody who can use a gun on his ass in the next twenty four hours.

"Sir we are trying our best to find and arrest the Night Fury vigilante." I said, but the Commisioner slammed his hand on the desk once more.

"I don't want him arrested Lieutenant! I want him made an example of! If every two bit moron in this city thought putting on a mask and going against the city leadership was possible, we'd loose all sense of order. I want you to bring him in a body bag, is that understood Lieutenant Haddock?" Reprimanded the Commisioner and I clenched my fist in frustration.

"Crystal clear sir." I said, silently praying to the gods for patience, because if I prayed for strength I might end up punching the old man right in the face.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Trapped

 _Apartment Unit_

 _Hammond POV._

"Mom is going to kill me." I said, trying to cover up my most recent power slip. This time I had turned the dining table into snack chips.

Yes, you heard me. I changed a wooden dining table into a large pile of junk food just by touching it. I had hoped to cover up the mess by sweeping all the chips into a trash bag, but my mom's unpredictable timing brought her home just in time to catch me sweeping the pile into an open trash bin.

"Mom, this isn't what it looks like." I said, throwing the broom to the other side of the room, just so my mom wouldn't wrench it from my grip and hit me over the head with it.

"Well it looks like you turned the dining table into… what is that? Chips?" she said, putting down her messenger bag and crossing her arms.

"In my defense it was an accident! I was thinking about food and I remembered seeing a bag of chips on the way here and I just, well, yeah." I fumbled. I closed my eyes and prayed my mom wouldn't chew me out, but she just sighed and brushed by me.

"Just clean up your mess and we'll have dinner on the couch. I never liked that table anyways." She said and I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. I was relieved that I got off without too bad of a punishment, but soon I was afraid. This time it was just the dining table and it turned into something harmless, but if I lose control of my powers again, what will I turn and what will it turn into? The first major incident was when I was when I turned a bar of soap into a live bomb. It took the San Fransokyo bomb squad two minutes to arrive at our house and another five to disarm the bomb. Since then I lose control of my powers every now and then, at the moment I have something at the forefront of my mind and I forget to drown it out with other random thoughts. It's one of my powers, when I want something made, anything I touch will become it. I could either turn lead into gold or a nuclear warhead into a cake. I haven't tried the latter example, but I'm not keen on standing next to a nuke to see if it will turn into chocolate or pound cake.

"Oh and you're cooking dinner. I'm tired." Mom shouted from her room. I sighed as I went to our kitchen and began working. I heated the pan and gathered the ingredients for our dinner, making a mental checklist on all the things I needed.

As I began cooking, I could imagine the finished product of my efforts, thinking of every step, every ingredient coming together. I felt tendrils reaching out from my body, holding different objects around me and pulling them closer. If another person was standing in the room, they'd see a cluster of different things happening in the kitchen. Ingredients were being prepeared, containters of miscellaneous spices were being opened and used, and all of this was being done on it's own.

Yay for telekinesis.

Scientists call it a "secondary metamutation", when a metahuman who already has a pre-existing ability goes through another traumatic experience, secondary metahuman genes activate themselves and another power manifests itself.

I first got the ability to use telekinesis when I was five. I was on my way with my aunt, my mom's twin sister, to her house in Arendelle. Driving from Berk, that's at least a two hours, and it was worse when a freak snowstorm suddenly coated the highway. The ride was long and me, being the hyperactive five year old that I was, I couldn't stop pestering my aunt when we'd get there and for her to entertain me or something. At the time, I couldn't understand that visibility was at an absolute zero and my aunt was struggling not to slide off the road. Eventually she got tired of my pestering and turned her attention away from the road to tell me to sit still and keep quiet.

It was at this point a car had to conviniently be on the wrong side of the road, and collide with the front of the car head on.

I woke up, I don't know how many minutes later, hanging upside down by my seatbelt, broken glass below my head and my aunt's body in the front seat. I couldn't tell if she was dead or unconcious, but the blood pooling at the roof wasn't a good sign.

I was stuck in the wreckage of the car for hours, the blood rushing to my head and my aunt still motionless. I was too afraid to be impaled by the shards of glass below me unbuckle the seatbelt and I was too small to reach for my aunt's phone to call for help. I don't remember how my mom and dad found me or how they got several emergency vehicles to my location, all I remember is the paramedics taking away my aunt on a hospital gurney. The next day I was surprised that whenever I'd ask for something it would come flying at at my head. My mom was confused but my dad understood. After all he had worked in the military and met a few metahumans who wanted to make a difference in the world without turning to wanton vigilantism. Well, at least before the government began hunting down metahumans. So for years we moved from place to place, using my dad's military career as an excuse to hide me away.

But all things must end someday, and that someday was when my dad was called out to stop an African warlord called Scar from usurping the rightful leader Africa, Simba. Basically when the news that my dad was captured, tortured and killed by Scar was traumatizing enough to activate my secondary metamutation.

My mom emerged from the bathroom several minutes later in a set of street clothes.

"Mom? What's with the casual wear? Got a hot date?" I asked, smirking as I put the finishing touches on our dinner.

"If by hot date you mean police manhunt then your answer is yes." She replied. Mom then plopped herself down on the couch and I set the plate of food on the coffee table in front of her.

"Here mama, Pasta ala Pesto for your dining a' pleasure!" I said in a fake italian accent. Mom rolled her eyes and punched me in the leg.

"Sit your ass down and eat." She said. I chuckled and took a seat beside her and we began eating.

"So how was your day?" Mom asked and I sighed.

"Hard."

"Oh, how so? Not failing school are you? We just got settled in and I'd hate to find another apartment as nice as this."

"No it isn't that. My grades are fine mind you, I am actually quite intelligent." I said, poking my pasta fork to my head like an idiot.

"Sure you are." Mom replied, rolling her eyes.

"Yes I am! But that's not the point. See, there's this guy in school, he's been bullied a lot over the years. I mean, I don't know for exactly how long, but I can tell because of the way he acts. You taught me for years to observe people, and what I observe in him is that he's scared, lonely and hurt. Very hurt. And it just pisses me off that I can't do anything about it. Months ago he came to school with injuries that obviously weren't accidental. But when I asked him about it, he ran away, like he was afraid people would find out. I know he's hurting mom, I know it. But I don't know how to help someone who doesn't want to be helped.

And then there's this other guy. He's, umm, well… he's the complete opposite. This guy is strong, fearless and a real fighter. He's the kind of guy that would pick a fight with a bear to save one baby duckling. This guy willingly puts himself in harms way so that others would be safe and it bugs me. Not that I have anything against it! Of course I respect this guy a lot, but it bugs me that I don't know why this guy does it. Is it for money? Fame? Maybe he's just a delusional psychopath who loves danger? I don't know, but it's been bugging me for months." I ended my rant with the image of both Hakon and Night Fury side by side in my mind. I couldn't possible imagine two completely different people, but they both absolutely frustrated me.

"*Sigh, Hammond, if someone doesn't want your help but needs it then it's your responsibility as a person to help them to the best of your ability. And as for your other friend? If you really want to know why he does the things he does then why don't you go ask him?" Our conversation paused for a moment as I pondered on my mom's advice, and the solution to one of my problems clicked into place.

"Aha! I got it! Yay, thanks mom!" I said and she smiled.

"No problem Hammond." She replied, taking a bite out of her pasta. We continued talking, I asked her if she liked her new job and she said that she'd like to shove the gun up her coworker's asses and pull the trigger. I hesitated to ask for details but she went on to tell me anyways. However, I was barely paying attention as I continued to think about the answer I had revealed to me, thanks to my mom's advice.

 _Alright, if I want to know why he does the things he does, I've got to ask him. Ok Hammond, time to find the Night Fury._ I thought, absentmindedly eating my pasta.

I thought of various ways to find the Night Fury, but none of them were viable or likely not to get me killed, and I almost gave up. So when my mom said that she was going out to try to track down the Night Fury, I didn't hesitate to follow her out into the city after dinner.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Berk City Streets_

 _No POV._

Night Fury sat on the rooftop of a building overlooking the street; it was the dead of night and the streets were devoid of life. The only other person who he could see was a woman walking down the sidewalk, her heels clacking against the pavement and her purse held close to her body. Suddenly, a man in a black hoodie emerged from the darkness and made a grab for her purse. As they both struggled, the girl screamed for help and the man furiously struggled to rip the purse from her hands. All while Night Fury watched in bored amusement.

" _Umm, you're not gonna help them or something?"_ asked Toothless in mild concern.

"I would, but I'd rather not get arrested any time soon."

" _I don't understand?"_

"Really? This is like – the most obvious trap ever. No one who lives in this city would be stupid enough to be outside after dark, especially in a place like this. She knows how to scream, you can hear it from the rooftops. Both of them are trying to draw as much attention to themselves as possible. And if the woman being robbed wasn't the director of BCPD Internal Affairs I'd have no trouble jumping down there and beating the crap out of the mugger." Night Fury said, furrowing his brows.

" _Oh."_ Replied Toothless as Night Fury continued to watch Leslie Thorinson be "mugged" for another half a minute until both mugger and bait gave up and moved into more relaxed positions.

"My dad's wasting a lot of manpower on these traps." Night Fury muttered.

" _Well it just shows he takes his job seriously."_

Soon a black car pulled up from the alleyway and the driver's seat door opened to reveal Stoic Haddock.

"That's enough. We'll try again tomorrow." He said, and the "mugger" nodded and left, probably to his own car.

Stoic moved to enter his car, but he raised his eyebrow as he noticed Atty. Thorinson still standing in front of him.

"I got here by bus, so I don't exactly have a ride right now." Said Atty. Thorinson. Stoic raised an eyebrow but sighed in defeat.

"Get in." Stoic said. Atty. Thorinson smiled and stepped into the car. They both drove off, leaving Night Fury alone on the rooftop.

"Well that was anticlimactic." He said, standing up and brushing the dust off the back of his legs. Night Fury then followed his dad's car to see where he was going.

Inside the car, it was all silence as both Stoic and Atty. Thorinson struggled to find a way to break the silence.

"This is pointless." Said Stoic.

"What is?"

"These stupid traps. They're not getting us any closer to catching the Night Fury, let alone finding him." Stoic was immensely frustrated at how elusive the Night Fury was. And the Lieutenant didn't even have a proper way of identifying him, considering all the people who've seen him are either in jail or in the hospital.

"Well maybe we're going about this the wrong way." Said Atty. Thorinson. Stoic slowed down to stop in front of an intersection, as a stoplight turned from green to red.

"What do you mean?" He asked, turning to face Atty. Thorinson.

"Let's start from the beginning. We know he operates on a city wide scale, but where did these Night Fury incidents start? Were there other related cases of citizen vigilantism in the past? What I'm saying is, we should stop looking for where he is, but focus more on where he's been." Stoic stared for a moment, before his mind began to formulate a new plan of action, until finally it hit him.

"Attorney Thorinson…" Started Stoic, but Atty. Thorinson cut him off.

"Please Lieutenant, it's Leslie."

"Right Attor… umm, Leslie, I've just remembered something. A few months back two officers were involved in a car crash in the downtown area. When the officers were recovered and debriefed, they said that they had just apprehended a young man who had started a street brawl. They said that as they were driving down to BCPD lockup, the young man jumped at them and drove the police cruiser into a truck."

"Hmm, could this be an early sighting of the Night Fury? Before he donned his costume?" Leslie Thorinson had a thoughtful look on her face as Stoic nodded.

"It could be. Witnesses reported seeing a figure dragging the officers out of their vehicle before it exploded. There was no news after that, no hospital reported anyone matching the description of the young man and the officers said he was wearing a mask."

"There's no doubt about it, that's our guy! Alright Lieutenant, first thing tomorrow I'm bringing in those two officers for questioning to get a better description off of them…" Leslie was about to continue, but Stoic decided to pitch into the conversation.

"While you're doing that, I'll head over to the area where the incident happened and see if I can't get a lead from some witness who hasn't stepped forward yet."

"Hey Lieutenant." Said Leslie and Stoic was broken out of his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"You're a pretty good cop." Stoic was a bit flustered by the compliment but composed himself quickly so he could reply.

"And you're not that bad a partner." Leslie smiled at the compliment and so did Stoic, just as the traffic light turned from red back to green. Stoic pressed lightly on the gas pedal, ready to move.

"Look out!" Shouted Leslie and Stoic, in a panic, slammed on the breaks. Stoic was about to ask why, when a large van suddenly sped by them. To anyone else, it would look like the van was in a hurry, but Stoic got a glimpse of the driver, slumped over on the steering wheel.

"Hang on!" Stoic said, driving off after the van.

While Stoic engaged in a high speed chase, Night Fury was struggling to keep the same pace as the speeding vehicles.

"Gods be damned I really need a car or something!" Night Fury shouted, jumping and grappling from rooftop to rooftop to try and cut off the van.

Back on the ground, Stoic finally caught up with the van and was driving alongside it.

"Take the wheel!" He ordered. Leslie nodded as Stoic climbed out of the driver's seat window. Leslie then steered the car so that Stoic was able to grab the door of the van and make his way inside.

When he got in, Stoic pulled the unconcious man off the wheel and prepared to stop the car when his eyes fell on a homeless person pushing a shopping cart down the street. Stoic barely could react as a black blur suddenly fell from the sky and tackled the homeless man out of the way of the speeding van. Stoic didn't have much time to think on what that was, as he was preoccupied with pulling the van into a sudden stop. Stoic's attention immediately went over to the unconcious man to feel for a pulse. When he felt a faint beat, he sighed in relief and stepped out of the van to meet whatever that black blur was.

"Lieutenant, I have him!" Stoic heard Leslie shout. In the distance a few meters up the street, Leslie Thorinson had her Desert Eagle trained on a black shape crouched on the ground. Stoic began running to help Leslie secure what she had pinned on the ground when, halfway there, Stoic had a sudden realization, that the thing Leslie had pinned down on the ground was none other than the Night Fury.

Back with Night Fury, he was beginning to go into panic mode. As he saw it, Hammond's mom was a good person, but wouldn't hesitate putting a bullet in his leg if he tried anything. And if he was caught and unmasked here, his dad will find out about the whole vigilante superhero shtick and he'd rather be shot and bleed out.

"I've already called for backup, so don't you try anything Night Fury." Leslie ordered. Night Fury was tempted to oblige, but it would be the end of everything as he knew it if he did. The situation was also made infinitely worse with the sound of approaching sirens coming from the distance. So he did the next most logical thing to get out of this situation; Night Fury spun and pushed his leg upwards from behind him. The heel of his foot hit Leslie's gun and her shot went wild, flying into the air much to her alarm. Night Fury then jumped up and pushed Leslie to the ground, muttering a short apology before bolting for the nearest alleyway.

Stoic had finally reached Leslie just as backup had arrived.

"You alright?" he asked, helping Leslie up.

"I'm fine, just a bit shaken." She replied as the backup officers rushed out of their cruisers.

"He went that way!" Shouted Stoic, pointing in the direction Night Fury went, expecting the officers to chase after him.

What he didn't expect was for all the officers to draw their guns and pepper the alleyway with a hail of gunfire.

Night Fury's danger sense went crazy, as he ran through the alleyway, warning him of the gunfire that was coming his way. Night Fury dodged and weaved, trying to avoid all the shots, but even he had a limit as to how much he could dodge and one lucky shot managed to get him right in the leg.

"GAH!" Shouted Night Fury as a sharp pain tore through his right thigh. Night Fury was barely able to limp to a wooden door and push it down, finding relative safety inside an old building.

Meanwhile Stoic was chewing out all the officers who fired at Night Fury.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with all of you morons?! You don't discharge your weapons at an unarmed suspect!" He shouted.

"But Commissioner Davis said…" Spoke one of the officers and Stoic growled at him.

 _Of course the Commissioner would have put a "shoot-to-kill" order on the Night Fury. I am going to kill that geriatric asshole._ Thought Stoic. He was about to say more, but the sound or helicopter blades interrupted him. He thought this was to help search for Night Fury, or maybe it was a sniper the Commissioner sent to help him "bring in" the Night Fury.

That was until the firebomb dropped from the sky.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Trial By Fire

 _Old Building_

 _Hiccup POV._

" _Hiccup. Hiccup get up. Hiccup!"_ Said Toothless over the comm line.

"Go away." I said, flicking several wood pieces off my suit as I surveyed my surroundings. It seemed as though I was in a condemned building; the windows were all boarded up and there wasn't a sign of anyone living here. I tried to stand up, but a familiar pain shot up my leg. I stumbled back to the ground, this time landing on my butt as I clutched my right thigh. I saw a large spot on my suit soaked in red from the gunshot that tore through me a few seconds ago..

" _Woah, that looks pretty bad. Bandages are in the fourth pocket on your left."_ I scrambled for the bandages and wrapped them tight around my wound before I bleed to death again. With a pained groan I tightened the bandages firmly on my leg and stood up carefully. When I felt I could walk properly I looked around for another way out.

I tried to drown out the sound of a helicopter hovering above the building I was in, I thought it was police backup coming to arrest me. That is, until a deafening explosion threw me sideways into the wall.

"AH!" I screamed. I may or may not have blacked out, my memory was pretty hazy, but the last thing I remembered was blazing heat and a terrible ringing in my ears.

"… _ccup! Hicc…! Hiccup are you alright! Say something dammit!"_ Toothless shouted in my earpiece and I groaned as I pushed myself up.

"The fuck was that?!" I shouted, albeit a bit groggily.

" _Oh thank the heavens! Dammit this is the second time I've thought you were dead! Seriously, we may both be metahumans but that doesn't mean we're immune to heart attacks!"_

"Thank you for your overwhelming concern." You could practically see the sarcasm dripping from my voice as I shook off my initial shock. Fire roared all around me as I steadied myself on the wall I had crashed into. I tried to get to higher ground so I could escape from the roof. I managed to get past one stair level, but the sound of the floor cracking under my weight caused my eyes to widen. The wood floor gave way and I fell through a large hole in the ground, landing hard on my back.

I howled in pain as the bullet wound on my leg started throbbing, but I had no time to lose as more of the floor gave way above me. I quickly rolled out of the way as a flaming support beam crashed into the spot I was once lying down on. I sighed in relief, once again examining my surroundings. The floor was concrete, meaning I was either in the first floor or basement level of the building. Although I could barely see through the brightness of the fire and the blackness of the smoke, my eyes scanned the room to try and find a way out.

But what my eyes fell on instead of an exit made me clench my fist in anger.

A charred corpse, frozen by flames in an expression of pain was sprawled out on the ground right next to where I landed.

I didn't have enough time to curse every single corrupt official in Berk as more flaming debris fell from above me. I ran for a clear area and rolled, just as the debris walled me off from the hole I fell through. I looked helplessly at my last way out, until I turned my head to the left. On the floor, I spotted a sealed metal hatch with a large "danger" sign painted onto the cover. My eyes narrowed at the sight while my brain slowly formulated a plan to survive this ordeal.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Outside, Berk Streets_

 _Stoic POV._

It was chaos.

At least two more firebombs were dropped before the Commisioner had decided to just leave the fires to do their work.

Leslie had called for more emergency vehicles to help control the bombardment of the building (but not before almost using her taser on every single officer in sight). There were ambulances, fire crews and more police vehicles; the firemen had been able to stop the blaze from spreading to the other buildings and were almost done extinguishing all the fires.

While Leslie was busy subjecting each and every officer to a tongue lashing, I was using whatever crowd control skills I had to evacuate the structures neighboring the flaming building. I had just finished evacuating the last building, when the roar of an engine and the screeching of tires caught my attention. A group of black SWAT vans arrived at the scene, their back doors flying open to produce about three or four squads of SWAT officers. I recognized the officer leading the charge as our beloved Sergeant Madguts the Murderous and I suddenly saw red.

"Alright boys, lock and load! Sgt. Madguts wants the Night Fury's head on a spear and we're gonna give it to him!" Shouted Boil and Madguts grunted in agreement.

"MADGUTS!" I called. The SWAT Sergeant turned his head towards me and furrowed his brows in anger. He forward in an attempt to intimidate me, but I was a lot braver than he thought.

"Keep your men under control! No one fires a shot unless I say!" I shouted, but Madguts merely scoffed and growled at me.

"Not this time Haddock, the Commissioner wants a corpse. This time we're gonna get him one, so stay out of the way." Said Boil. Madguts shoved past me, pushing me out of the way for his death squad to enter the building.

 **XXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Old Building_

 _Hiccup POV._

Through sonic vision, I could see the team of SWAT officers treading through the extinguished ruins of the building. I counted about thirty of them split into squads inside the building and several dozen more squads outside, but they were all armed with riot gear and assault rifles. Seven SWAT officers were treading the closest to me, their flashlights were looking through every possible hiding spot in the basement. The lead SWAT officer, whom I remember from news reports as Sergeant Madguts the Murderous, stopped the entire group. He shined his flashlight around, when the light fell on the metal hatch on the ground.

"Think he survived down there?" asked another officer, whom I remember Gobber calling Boil.

Madguts didn't reply as he unloaded an entire magazine into the trap door, punching about a hundred holes into the steel. When the magazine ran out, Madguts grunted and motioned his head towards the trap door. One of the SWAT behind him came forward, carefully opening the trap door, revealing a set of stairs going deeper into the building.

I smirked and returned to normal vision as five of the seven SWAT officers decended into the lower levels, leaving two SWAT standing side by side to keep watch. I slowly rose out of my hiding place, behind a broken wall of the building and grabbed the heads of the two SWAT officers, crashing them hard against each other. The protective visors on each SWAT's helmets shattered and they slumped to the floor unconcious.

I made my way to the open hatch, looking down to see all the SWAT officers searching through the room below.

 _Must've been the super's room._ I thought. I pulled the hatch down, sealing all the SWAT below me with a loud smash. I then pushed a large support beam over the hatch, firmly sealing it shut..

"What the hell!" I heard Boil shout below me. After that, there was a series of angry roars and growls from what I assumed was Madguts trying to break himself out. I smirked, turning to leave, but one of the radios of a SWAT officer I'd knocked out earlier caught my eye.

I picked up the radio and pressed the button to transmit.

"I like you right where you are Madguts." I said and the sound of someone banging on the trapdoor stopped, replaced by angry growls on the radio.

"Too many people have already died. Order your squads to withdraw. Otherwise I can't guarantee their safety. Or yours." I said in my most menacing voice, however that only elicited an angry roar from Madguts.

"You heard the Sergeant! Units one and two, converge on the lobby, he's here!" Shouted Boil over the radio. My sonic vision alerted me to two more squads of at least eight men per squad closing in on my position.

"Crap." I said, tossing the radio as my danger sense roared, warning me of incoming fire. I leaped behind me, towards a still-standing pillar and took cover, making my profile as thin as possible. The pillar barely shielded me from the gunfire, but it was better than nothing. Only problem was that with about sixteen men, all armed with pretty heavy weaponry, my cover was disintegrating piece by piece.

"Toothless, I need some backup if you've got any!"

" _Working on something as fast as I can. ETA ten minutes!"_ Toothless replied and amidst the gunfire, I could hear Toothless on his workbench, hurriedly creating something to get me out of this mess.

"I don't have ten minutes!" I screamed back as my cover got smaller and smaller and I could only helplessly wait to be turned into a bloody mess on the floor.

However, that didn't happen.

What did happen was the sudden sound of stone cracking piercing through the gunshots. Shouts of alarm emmited from the SWAT officers, then they shifted fire from me to something else. When I poked my head out to see the commotion, I was greeted with a seven foot wall of moving concrete pushing against the SWAT officers. Inside my cowl one would see a confused look on my face as the SWAT team was pushed back by the wall, and when the back of the wall was close enough to me, I could see what or who had saved me.

"Hammond?!" I blurted, utterly shocked at seeing my classmate here. He glanced in my direction and, from what I could see behind the pulled up hoodie he was wearing, his eyes widened. So with one final push, Hammond threw the wall he made a good eight feet, slamming the SWAT officers against the wall of the building before it disintigrated and the SWAT officers all sprawled out against the floor. Hammond then ran towards where I was, making another wall just as the SWAT officers regained their composure and resumed fire.

"Hey." He said, grinning and waving.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I asked in both disbelief and concern.

"Umm… well I was going to find you and ask you a question, but then the whole firebomb thing happened and well, I kinda got stuck in here with you." I facepalmed my cowl and sighed.

"Well, now you're here, so you might as well help me out. Can you make a smokescreen?" I asked and Hammond smirked.

"I can do better."

Hammond bent over, while his one hand was still on the wall protecting us from the bullets and picked up several small rocks from the ground and clenched his hand around them. A look of intense concentration crossed his face and then he relaxed. He opened his hand and there, instead of rocks, were several small silver pellets.

"Smokebombs. Learned how to make them once from the internet and they should be enough help you out." He dropped the smokebombs into my waiting hand and I held them tight in my grip.

"Thanks. Remember, no matter what keep this wall raised and stay behind cover. This is going to get messy." I said and Hammond nodded.

I switched to sonic vision and waited for a few seconds for several SWAT officers to reload their weapons, to lighten the gunfire so I could dodge most of the bullets. When I saw several SWAT stop firing, I rolled out of cover, throwing all the smokebombs in my hands right at the feet of the SWAT officers. The breakable pellets burst and out sprayed a thick layer of smoke, coating the entire floor. The officers stopped firing and looked around trying to find me and each other in the midst of all the smoke.

"My turn…" I muttered, charging the first SWAT officer I saw and taking him down.

 **XXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Outside, Berk Streets_

 _Stoic POV._

" _CODE 10, UNIT THREE, DO YOU READ ME? UNIT THREE RESPOND?"_ Shouted a voice in the radio, followed by the sound of gunshots both in the building and on the radio.

"Sounds like Madguts is in trouble Lieutenant, should we help?" asked an officer who was listening in on the radio. However, I didn't actually care about the well being of Madguts and his crew, so I was calmly sitting on the hood of a police cruiser, mindlessly inspecting my gun.

"Oh, I wish I could help, but orders are orders. Breaks my heart." I replied and the officer hesitated, but one angry look from Leslie was enough to make him quickly turn his attention back to the building. I raised an eyebrow at her, but she just smirked, and I returned the expression.

"What did you say to the poor guy?" I asked

"Oh nothing much, just that if he so much as glances at his weapon without proper clearance I'll have his ass mounted on the wall of my office." She said, keeping her smirk. I'm sure I had a pretty stupid look on my face for a moment because Leslie's smirk grew into a smile and I couldn't help but feel a bit flustered.

"Well… poor him. Ha ha." I said, a nervous laugh escaping me. After that, there was awkward silence between us despite the chatter of the crowd that had gathered behind the police line. I was about to start another random conversation, when two helicopters passed overhead. They surrounded the building the Night Fury was in and through the darkness, I could see several ropes fall from the passengers area, a dozen SWAT reinforcements decending into the building.

"Looks like the Commissioner is finally trying to do this the 'right' way." I said.

"Lets just hope this night doesn't end with more death." Leslie replied. As far as I knew Leslie Thorinson, I'm sure she wasn't talking about the SWAT officers dying tonight.

 **XXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Old Building_

 _Hiccup POV._

Now I've really made a mess of things.

Too many innocent people are in danger and some are even dead. I thought back to the burnt body I had seen before the fires were put out and I shuddered. Now don't get me wrong, dead bodies don't really affect me as much as I should, what with my mom and several unsupervised trips to the BCPD morgue, I've been pretty much desensitized to the sight of the dead.

But the dead guy in the building really scarred me. Maybe it's cause it's my fault he's dead, or maybe the adrenaline in my veins is messing with my head? I don't know, but the situation has gotten too much out of hand, and I had to end it quickly.

That's why I was hiding underneath a creaky staircase, formulating a new plan to ambush a few idiot SWAT officers coming my way. Hammond was at the wall opposite to me, ready to throw out a smokescreen or liquify the ground to help me at a moments notice.

I watched as several SWAT officers creaked down the steps, scanning every corner in search of me, but not looking right under their noses. When they all reached the same floor as me, a black cat I had not noticed earlier, ran out from the area I was hiding. The cat startled one SWAT officer and he discharged his weapon in a panic. I saw Hammond visibly tense, but I carefully held my hand out, to signal it was alright.

When the officer calmed down, the group moved deeper into the building and I quietly opened communications to Toothless back at the Cove.

"Toothless, where's my help?" I whispered/screamed.

" _And… done! My new friend is on the way, ETA five minutes!"_ Toothless said in triumph.

"Finally." I muttered, closing the comm line and smirking. Great, backup is almost here, now I just have to wait. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention to the ridiculous amount of SWAT officers that had now entered the floor, maybe sixteen or seventeen of them. Most of them were crowded around one area, and through sonic vision, I could see that they were trying to get Madguts and the SWAT I had trapped under the floor out of their confines.

 _Crap._ I thought as I unconciously shifted my weight to get a better view of their progress. Sadly, I had forgotten about some small debris around my feet, which made small cracking sounds as my knee crunched over them. My heart stopped as a nearby SWAT officer noticed the sound and looked suspiciously at my hiding place. He raised his assault rifle and slowly plodded towards me. I panicked and, seeing as there was no way I could run without getting shot a few hundred times, I knocked the floor, giving Hammond the signal to save my ass.

Hammond placed his hands on the ground and concentrated, turning the floor around the officer coming towards me into a viscous fluid. The officer shouted in alarm, but before he could react, I jumped out of my hiding place and kicked him in the head, instantly knocking him out. However, that alerted the whole room to my presence and the immediate response was a dozen or more assault rifles pointed and shooting in my direction. My danger sense barely had time to activate before I ran to the side, trying to dodge as much gunfire as I could. I passed Hammond on the way, who I tackled to the ground. Hammond quickly put up a small barrier to protect us but one SWAT officer got a good shot on me and grazed my shoulder.

I shouted in pain, but my problems were momentary as I heard fearful cries from outside the building. I looked up to see the gunfire had torn open a boarded up window, fresh early morning daylight streamed into the room, while blaring deadly gunfire streamed out into the crowd that had gathered outside.

" _Cease fire you morons! Cease fire!"_ I heard someone shout outside. I could only assume it was my dad since no one else could be loud enough to be heard through a volley of gunfire.

I looked at Hammond, who was looking rather worn from the nights events and I looked over the cover he had made. I saw, through the shooting, Madguts had somehow made his way out of the trap I had put him in and was looking very, very pissed. He roared in anger, wrenching an assault rifle from some random SWAT officer and proceeded to unload the entire clip, moving closer and closer towards me. As our cover began getting smaller and smaller, I desperately looked for a way to take the SWAT officers out, when I spotted a barely standing support pillar right next to me.

Using all my might, I kicked the pillar right where I thought was the weakest point, and true enough, an entire section of the floor above fell down on most of the SWAT officer's heads, including Madguts. As the gunfire stopped, I walked through the dust to find Madguts on all fours, hacking and coughing. As he got up, he tried to raise his assault rifle to continue firing, but I was already close enough to grab the gun and twist it from his grip. He tried to take a swing at me, but I saw it coming a mile away and blocked with ease, counterattacking with the palm of my hand right up his nose, breaking it. As he clutched his bleeding nose, I violently grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and brought his face right up to mine. Even though he probably towered a few inches above me, I had no problem showing that I was the big man here. He tried to intimidate me by growling angrily, but I retaliated by headbutting him and roaring in his face. With my modified voice and my already angry tone, I sounded like a menacing beast, so when I looked into Madguts' eyes, I saw the one thing I aspired to see in all criminal scumbags.

Fear.

More specifically, the fear of me.

I smirked as I used every bit of strength to throw Madguts right through the wall of the building. The already fire damaged bricks gave way, creating a massive hole as Madguts flew a good three feet and landed hard on his back. Now I could see the outside; from what I could tell it was about four or five in the morning, but that didn't stop a crowd of at least a hundred people gathered outside behind a large police barricade. At the front of my vision, in a police cruiser the closest to the building, was my dad. We locked eyes and I could see something in his eyes, something I had never seen before, so I couldn't really put a finger on it. I was tempted to just stay there and let whatever happens happen, but the sudden uproar of cheering from the crowd broke me from my trance, and I immediately retreated back into the building. I was greeted with the remaining SWAT officers, all of whom were trying to reload their weapons and some who had lost their weapons, trading them for fallen debris, police batons and good old fashioned fists.

" _Help is coming Hiccup, just hold on for a minute!"_ Toothless said over the comm line.

"A minute? Ha! I could go a few more hours. Come on boys, lets see what you've got left!" I shouted, switching to combat vision and charging into battle. Hammond was behind me as he created another smokescreen to hide us as we punched and fought anyone who came within arms (or legs) reach.

I rushed one SWAT officer as he swung a broken pipe at me. I grabbed his arms and flipped him into a SWAT trying to sneak up behind me. I wrenched the pipe he was using from his grip and didn't hesitate to swing it across a random SWAT's face. I could sense someone about to attack once more, but I was too weary to dodge properly and I felt the business end of a police baton strike me in the side of the head. I was momentarily dazed and the attacking SWAT tried to capitalize on this, pulling out a knife and attempting to stab me. However Hammond came to the rescue, using his powers to push the SWAT into several of his comrades and brutally shoving them into the wall. I could see through the smokescreen Hammond giving me a thumbs up and I returned it before ducking another attack and countering by breaking the attacker's arms.

But more and more attacks piled on and soon, the smokecreen was gone and Hammond and I were backed up against the wall of the building.

"Time to die Night Fury!" shouted one of the SWAT and the ones who still had their rifles aimed down, fingers on the trigger.

"Crap, can't make a barrier in time to protect us. We're screwed; what should we do Night Fury?" asked Hammond, panic forming in his voice.

"Relax, backup is on the way." I said, pretending to put my hands above my head, but actually opening comms to the Cove.

"Is backup on the way Toothless?"

" _Already there."_ Toothless replied. I raised an eyebrow, but my question was answered with the sound of alarmed screams coming from outside. Everyone's heads turned to the large hole in the wall to see a giant mass flying in the sky. From the angle of the sun, it was just a mass of writhing, shrieking creatures all flying around and charging straight for the building. A million screeching critters blasted through the hole in the wall and broke through the boarded up windows.

I jumped on Hammond, pinning us to the ground as the creatures began to attack every SWAT officer in sight. I got a better look at the creatures and saw that they were all bats. I couldn't figure out how Toothless got all of these bats to help us, but my question was answered by a white robotic sphere hovering in front of my head.

" _Like it? I call it the Night Terror; its basically a transmitter that sends out a signal as an attractant for bats. I'm working on controling the bats more, but getting them from one place to another is pretty good too."_ Toothless explained as the Night Terror sphere flew away. I didn't reply as I was too busy pulling Hammond up.

"Come on! It's time to leave!" I shouted over the shrieking bats. Hammond nodded as we both jumped out of the hole in the wall, our exit covered by the bats. Hammond moved to run, but I grabbed him by the shoulder.

"What?" he asked.

"No, you need to go the other way. No one knows you're here so that gives you the perfect opportunity to escape. I'll draw their fire, buy you enough time to get clear."

"No way, I can't let you go out alone, they'll kill you!"

"And if they catch you jail time will be the least of your worries, especially if your mother finds out." Hammond looked dumbfounded at the mention of his mother.

"How do you…?"

"It doesn't matter, just go!" I shouted, about to run off to escape, but Hammond blocked my way.

"Wait!"

"What now? We don't have time for this!"

"I know, I know, but I've just got one question!" I groaned, but I didn't have time to argue.

"Alright, but make it snappy."

"Why do you do what you do?" The question shook me more than it should have. I could feel myself drowing out all the external noise and letting my thoughts be the only sound. It took a second of contemplation: how to answer his question without giving away my identity, but as time slowly dripped away I just said the first thing that popped into my head.

"Because I made a promise." With that, I ran off, the Night Terror drawing all the bats to follow me, leaving Hammond with the opportunity to run to the crowd and blend in. I searched for a way to outrun the police, when my eyes fell on a police motorcycle with the keys still in it. I hopped in the seat and turned the ignition, remembering the lessons Gobber taught me when I had shown interest in driving one of these when my life was a bit happier. I twisted the handle, set the bike in gear and rode off, the colony of bats keeping up as best they could. I could hear the sound of helicopter blades and police sirens behind me, but once I cornered the bike into an alleyway, the Night Terror continued to bring the bats down the street leading my pursuers away from my position and allowing me to finally make a break for the Cove.

 **XXXXXXXXXXX**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Deadly

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Bork High_

 _Hiccup POV._

"Mister Haddock!" I jolted awake, the paper the teacher had given earlier sticking to my head. The entire class was in giggles and chuckles as I pulled the paper off my head and rubbing my sleep deprived eyes.

"Sorry sir." I said. The teacher eyed me skeptically, but returned to his lesson. I barely paid attention as I yawned and rested my head on my hand. It's been three days since the incident with the old building, and I've barely gotten more than five hours of sleep. Which means, I am immensely tired and the wounds I had received two days prior were still healing, so along with immense fatigue, I'm also dealing with immense pain.

Toothless says I should take a break, but I told him I don't need one. Then he poked my leg with a pipe just to prove his point and I nearly passed out from the pain. I told him I'd think about it but a break would waste all the progress I've made over the past several months. In the one night I'm absent, more illegal operations take place – more people die – events which I could have, would have and should have stopped, but didn't because I was too busy catching some sleep.

That's exactly why I try to sleep in school. Now I know, "Hiccup, you can't sleep in class, you'll miss out on all your lessons!" Well my very special metahuman photographic memory keeps me updated on all the lessons, I just have to hear the teacher then I'll remember exactly what he says the next day. And in case I don't hear him, I can just read off one of my classmate's notes (incognito of course) and boom, instant crash course.

Later, on the way to the cafeteria for lunch, as I limped through the hallway, I did my best to avoid all social interaction with anyone. Unfortunately, life hates me more than I thought.

"Hiccup!" Shouted Hammond, running over to me. I inwardly groaned, not because I didn't like Hammond, I think he's a great guy, but I groaned because for the past several months he's been hounding me about my various injuries from my nights as a vigilante, thinking they're from some sort of abuse. And if he sees the injuries I got from the night in the old building, like my gunshot wound, then he'll make the connection and my early superhero career will be done and done.

"Hey Hammond." I said quickly, moving to escape, but Hammond was quicker and instead blocked my way.

"Umm… excuse me?" I tried to make my way past him, but he didn't budge as he continued to block me.

"Just, hold on ok? I wanna talk." He replied and I sighed in defeat.

"Fine… it's not like I can go anywhere." I mumbled the last part and Hammond smiled.

"Hiccup, we're friends right?" The question caught me a bit off guard and I tried to recover my composure.

"Uhh, no… you're just the guy who follows me around asking about my problems, when in reality, I'm pretty sure you're the only one who can oust me as a vigilante by night." This is what I would have said, if not for the fact that it wouldn't exactly be a good idea so instead I went with:

"Uhh, yeah…?" I expected him to ask me why I looked like every step was a step through hell, but instead he said:

"So, you wanna help me with my homework?"

"Hammond I'm fin… wait, say what now?"

"I said, could you help me with my homework? I'm pretty good at most classes, but it's the Norse mythology in history class that's killing me." He lamented "I uhh, I heard you were an ace in that class, so I thought you were the best one to go to about this."

I could feel the gears in my brain start working, trying to figure out some ulterior motive to Hammond's request. However, I found none. His honest face and good heart made it difficult to believe he wanted something out of this.

"Ummm, alright I guess." I replied.

"Great! How soon can you come? Tonight maybe?"

"Uh, not tonight. I've got some, erm… errands to run. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Alright, tomorrow's good! See you then! I'm cooking lasagna!" With that, Hammond cheerfully sauntered off, pleased that I had agreed. I however, was weary of the implications this agreement had, but I'll think about this more later. Right now my problem was finding a place to eat; I had arrived at the cafeteria to find that all the tables were filled and Hammond was waiting at the table I usually sit. As I said before, I'd really prefer to avoid as much human contact as possible. Since the school had banned eating in the classroom (which used to be my backup plan), I decided to go with my backup _backup_ lunch plan which was buy all the food I can carry and head up to the school roof.

There's a roof access that only the janitor has the key to, but I learned how to pick locks a long time ago so getting on the roof was child's play. There's a little spot I like to stay right beside the roof access, so I just plopped myself down in my little area and started eating. I don't do this often, in fact, I've only ever eaten on the roof once since the year started, and that was several months ago. I only come here when I'm truly desperate for a place to eat. And I was pretty desperate today. I was halfway through my sandwich – which was quite tasty – when the sound of the access door opening nearly made me spit out my food. I did my best to hide from the intruder, praying I wouldn't get in trouble for being here. I heard footsteps begin to head away from me. The footsteps stopped for a moment and that's when I took a peek to see who was on the roof with me. However, there was no one I could see. I looked around confusedly.

"What are you doing here?" a voice asked from above. I froze and slowly looked upwards.

"A-A-Astrid! Wha-what are you doing here?" I stuttered as the blonde Valkyrie stood on top of the roof access. She then gracefully dropped off, landing in front of me.

"What are am I doing here? What are you doing here? Don't you know you're not allowed up here?" Astrid said, resting her hands on her hips. She smirked and I couldn't stop my face turning red.

"I-I-I-I… I'm eating lunch." I said, raising my half eaten sandwich.

"Then why don't I join you?" Astrid revealed a box wrapped bright blue cloth – likely her lunch. I felt my brain slowly shut down as the reality of her statement sank in.

"Wha-Wha-Wha-Wha… umm, ahem, why-why would you want to eat with me? I-I'm sure there's plenty of people downstairs who're looking f-for you." I said, trying to sound less like I didn't want her anywhere near me, and more polite so she doesn't take my statement to offense.

"Hiccup, have you ever actually seen me eat in the cafeteria?" She asked and I paused, searching my memory for any instance of Astrid in the cafeteria. Aside from a few glimpses here and there, I couldn't recall her actually sitting down and eating.

"N-No." Gah! I've faced down armed criminals who wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in my head and I never even flinched. However two sentences from Astrid and I'm already on the verge of having a brain aneurysm.

"Well I always eat on the roof that's why, at least since a couple of months ago. I can't stand how crowded the canteen is." She said. I slapped my hand on my forehead.

"Gah, I am so so sorry! I'm such an idiot; you must want to be alone. I'll just go then." I prepared to leave, but Astrid stood in the way.

"Hiccup, its fine. Stay. I don't really mind some company." I stopped myself from standing, instead looking up at her.

"W-Well I think this roof piping seems pretty comfortable." I said, scooting over to the side a bit. Astrid took a seat beside me, a small smile on her face as she unwrapped her lunch. I took a glance at her food and saw inside was a beef stew without the stew coupled with a heap of white rice.

"Adobo." Said Astrid. "It's a dish my mom learned from her travels around the world. She's a great cook. You want some?" Astrid asked, surprising me.

"Umm, I… sure…" I nervously got a spoon and fork from my pile of food and stabbed a piece of "Adobo".

"You eat it with the rice. It's much better that way." She advised. I nodded before scooping up some rice and shoving both the Adobo and rice in my mouth.

"Woah! Its-Its amazing!" I said and she smirked.

"Told you my mom's a great cook." She said before taking a bite herself. After that we ate in silence, I was too nervous to speak and she was enjoying her meal. However, one question did come to mind that I had to ask, no matter what.

"Astrid… why are you so nice?" I asked out of nowhere. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow and a mouth full of food. It looked pretty comical so I had to suppress a chuckle. She swallowed her food and looked at me skeptically

"Umm… because I'm a nice person?" She said and I mentally slapped myself.

"No no no, I mean… I'm sure you're a really really nice person, but it's just… you've been really nice to _me._ You've saved me from Snotlout twice and seem genuinely worried for me. I mean, lets be honest we didn't really speak at all before." I said. However, a look of pain passed through her face and I instantly regretted ever being born.

"Oh no, I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't m-mean to hurt you! J-Just ignore my question!" I blurted. But the damage was done. Astrid put her meal down and looked at me seriously.

"Hiccup… exactly how long have you known me?" I was taken off guard by her question as I was half expecting her to punch me and I struggled to form a response.

"I-I… uhh… lets see… since 7th grade if I'm not mistaken?" I said, but Astrid's demeanor did not change.

"Well yeah, you've known _of_ me since the 7th grade, but do you really _know_ me? Did you know my favorite color is blue? I like animals, especially parrots? The fact that I absolutely hate all forms of modern pop music? How much about _me_ do you really know?" She asked, looking at me seriously.

At that point I realized, for all the years I spent fawning over this girl, I barely knew anything about her. Just her name, her face and how she's always been so unattainable, but I never took the time of day to actually understand her past that.

"N-No…" I muttered. I began to feel more and more guilty, but a soft laugh from Astrid surprised me.

"No no, it's fine Hiccup. To be honest, I think the person who knows me best is you." My heart fluttered and I did my best to hide a creeping blush on my cheeks.

"R-R-Really? W-Wha-What about the others? Snotlout? The twins? Fishlegs?" I asked and Astrid placed her food on the ground and held her knees to her chest.

"Snotlout's a vainglorious meathead, the twins are idiots and I'm pretty sure Fishlegs thinks I'm going to bite his head off. So no, aside from them I've known you the longest, and you seem to pay attention to me a lot, so there's that." My eyes went as wide as dinner plates as I looked at Astrid who was smirking. I'm pretty sure I felt all the blood in my body rush to my face as I felt more embarrassed than I ever have in my entire life.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Since grade 9."

"Shit."

"On the contrary, its why I trust you." Gods is this woman trying to make my head explode or something?

"Trust me?"

"Mhm. Its cause I know you're a good person." She said. At that moment the blood decided it needed release, and the only available path was through my nose. Great, now I look like a moron.

"A-Ah! I-I-I'm so sorry!" I screeched, trying my best to wipe off the blood and plug my nose with the tissues I stole from the canteen. Astrid on the other hand began laughing, more than I've ever seen her laugh in all the years I've known her. And aside from the immense embarrassment, I felt a surge of pride that I was able to bring joy to the normally stoic faced Astrid.

"I'm leaving Hiccup." I suddenly stopped what I was doing, bloody tissues stuffed in my nose and eyes once again widened.

"O-Oh… did-did I do something wrong? It's the nosebleed wasn't it." I felt myself shrink under the pressure I was putting on myself, until Astrid smiled and shook her head.

"No. I mean I'm leaving Berk." If you cannot comprehend how I feel right now: ever head your heart pulled out of your chest, stomped on repeatedly, and shoved back into the open chest cavity with a live grenade. That's exactly how I felt.

"What?! Why?! When?!"

"I don't know. Soon. But it'll be within the year."

I couldn't believe it. I just have no words for this. I mean, sure we weren't exactly in a relationship (yet), but still, leaving the school is one thing, but Berk? That's a completely different ballpark.

"My mom's job is taking us far away. Its work related. I don't know if we'll ever meet again. Ever. It's why I've been helping you for the past few months. I wanted to settle some things. One of which was that I felt I'd been ignoring you for a long time. I've seen my fair share of suffering done to others, and I guess I just wanted to help someone for once in my life." I had no words. I couldn't conjure up a coherent thought to reply to this revelation. Eventually, lunch break ended and we had to go back to class. However, I could not concentrate, as the thought of Astrid leaving Berk.

Forever.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Berk_

 _Hiccup POV._

Metahuman healing is a wonderful thing. In the morning, I'd felt like I was run over by a steamroller, and then twelve or thirteen hours later I can run across buildings and rooftops like normal. My leg still hurt though; I guess gunshot wounds take longer to heal than just cuts and bruises (obviously). It wasn't really much of a bother though as the grappling hook made up for most of the gaps I couldn't jump.

Gods I seriously need a car or something. This parkour think is getting tiring.

The revelation earlier today still shook me. I mean, we may have not been best friends, but Astrid was still a part of my life in a weird way. There was always something about her that just made everything complete. I know I sound like some creepy ass stalker, but that's the way it is and I can't change it.

I was about to pester Toothless about building me a car, to distract my thoughts, when a sudden sound of static entered my communications line.

" _All units, this is dispatch. We have a possible code 187, murder on 10_ _th_ _street apartment 199. Neighbors of a Mr. James Wallace, apartment 1329 A, reported shouts coming from his apartment, followed by what sounded like a struggle. Nearby units please investigate."_ I had Toothless intercept the BCPD's police radio chatter and send it to my comm unit, just so I didn't have to run around looking for trouble. Now I can know where trouble happens.

" _Dispatch this is Officers Mulch and Bucket responding to dispatch. ETA to scene: 20 minutes."_

Thirty minutes? Ha! I can be there in five.

 _Timeskip, 8 minutes_

Okay, maybe it took eight minutes. Still, I got here first, so I'll count that as a victory. The apartment in question was about thirteen stories up… with a locked window (it was a high climb). Great.

 _Well the front door isn't such a bad idea._ I thought. See, it's only the beginning of my career of a hero and I'm already defying stereotypes; heroes use doors too. Albeit, in a more stealthy manner than the average person.

I crept up the stairs of the apartment complex, careful not to alert the neighbors of my presence. It wasn't long before I reached unit 1329, a standard looking white door, although the paint was somewhat faded and had a few chips in the wood here and there. I tried the doorknob – it opened a bit, but only a bit as the door was blocked from the other side.

"Great."I muttered, stepping back a few steps before running into the door full force. It took about to runs, but I shoved the door wide enough that I was able to slip though the crack. As I stepped inside, I saw that a chair was propped up against the doorknob.

 _Odd._ I thought as I inspected the apartment. The lights were off, but I could still see with my natural night vision. It was a pretty average looking apartment - the kitchen, living and dining room were all in the same place with one bedroom and one bathroom. The only problem was, the place looked like a tornado came in and decided to fuck everything up. However, the _pièce de résistance,_ was the dining table: dining utensils and food for one was scattered all around, and on the table was a corpse pinned to the table with five six inch spikes – two in his hands, two in his legs and one in his eye, with the other eye open wide in fear.

" _Damn… just… damn. I guess that's James Wallace."_ Toothless said, but my eyes narrowed.

"Yes and no." I replied, confusing Toothless.

" _What do you mean yes and no? Who else could it be?"_

"You don't get it. Yes, this is the body of James Wallace, but James Wallace is not his real name. It's the Terrible Terror." I remembered this guy from when I fought the Gronkle, from his weaselly looking face to his horribly tacky dark green sweat suit. It wasn't as widely reported as the Gronkle, but some news outlets said that he was also released on the grounds of "insufficient evidence". Word on the street said he ran back to the Dragon's home base to try and beg forgiveness from the Red Death.

Guess he wasn't welcomed back with open arms.

"I need to find out who did this." I said

" _Why? This guy was a criminal. If there's some other wackjob running over rooftops taking out the criminals, I say let him."_ Toothless said in displeasure.

"No! This isn't right. It's not our place to take a life, based on our own morality. That's the law's job."

I could tell Toothless wanted to argue more, but a flicker of color in the corner of my eye caught my attention and caused me to quiet Toothless. In the head of the dining table, I saw a ghost.

Not like an actual _ghost_ , I mean a ghost like the one I saw at my house of mom months ago, back when I first got my powers. However, instead of being yellow like mom's ghost, this ghost was purple. It was also very faint, practically fading out of existence, but still opaque enough that I could still tell what it is. It was the Terrible Terror, his face being slammed onto the table by an unseen force.

"Wait Toothless. Something's happening." I said, moving closer to the ghost.

" _What? Can you see the spirit of justice, telling you you're a moron? Wooooooo."_ Toothless jeered, but I ignored him in favor of inspecting the ghost.

"You're not that far off." I muttered. I reached out, intent on testing a theory. Turns out, my theory was right as the ghost's image cleared up and began playing.

The Terror's face bounced off the table and he fell to the floor. The ghost scrambled up, stumbling around unsure of what is happening. However, his eyes locked in on something or someone in front of him. He began talking, however there was no sound emanating from him. I could only pick out a few words like: "please" and "kill". Out of nowhere, the Terror ghost's body jerked backwards, flying onto the couch and flipping it backwards. The Terror got up and reached towards the exposed bottom of the couch where a gun was taped to it. However, a ghostly spike, the same one inside the Terror's body in real life, impaled the Terror ghost's hand. He screamed in agony for several seconds before he was suddenly lifted into the air and thrown at the foot of the dining table. Now the Terror looked as if he was being pinned to the floor – his assailant likely placing a foot on his throat. The Terror's mouth began moving, he was likely begging for his life from the way his eyes looked. Out of nowhere, the Terror was lifted up and thrown onto the dining table, his hands and feet jerking onto the wooden surface as spikes pinned them down.

I could already see where this was going as the Terror ghost looked more and more afraid, eyes bulged wide and frantically pleading. However, in the next instant, a spike was driven through his eye, ending it all. I flinched at the Terror's sudden end: he may have been a criminal scumbag, but no one deserves to die like this. The ghost disappeared and reappeared in the spot where its face was being smashed on the table.

"So he was interrogated." I muttered

" _How'd you figure that out Sherlock?"_ asked Toothless.

"I'll explain it later. But right now the question is what was he interrogated about?" I, to my displeasure, began to search the Terror's body for any clues. I couldn't find anything on his body, so whatever the Terror had was either taken by his attacker or still in the apartment.

 _That would explain why the place is trashed._ I thought, about to search the premises. However, I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Toothless…"

" _Yeah?"_

"I've just thought of something. And you're not gonna like it."

" _Oh come on, it can't be that bad. Actually, if it's you then it has to be bad."_

"The apartment is trashed yes?"

" _Yeah? So the killer was looking for something right?"_

"Yep, and since there's no sign of him, we can assume that he's found what he was looking for and left yes?"

" _Of course. What's your point?"_

"Well when I tried to get in the apartment, the windows were locked and there was a chair propped up on the door."

" _Hakon…"_

"So unless the killer could prop up a chair from the other side of the door, or lock a window while hanging outside it…" I clenched my fists and tensed my muscles.

"Then he's still in here with me."

" _Ah shit."_

My danger sense flared and I immediately ducked down. A figure flew over my head, in the position of a flying kick. I couldn't discern his figure, as he was moving too fast. His kick however, had a dual purpose; aside from being an attack towards me, the kick sent the killer flying out the window.

A loud crash, followed by a sudden breeze made me look up to see a broken window. I readied myself for pursuit, but not before something flew from the window towards me. My danger sense buzzed in my head and I moved to run, but it was too late as a grappling hook wrapped itself around my leg and pulled me out the window thirteen floors above the ground.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Tell me, is the killer obvious yet?**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Spiked

 _Berk Rooftops_

 _Hiccup POV._

"FUUUUUUUCK MEEEE!" I shouted as I was dragged out of the apartment window. My brain went into overdrive as I fell: I couldn't grab on to the window frame, my gloves weren't armored so the broken glass would shred my hands. I couldn't grapple to safety either, I was moving too fast so the force of the killer's pull added with my fall would likely rip my arm off.

So I could only stay idle as I felt myself fly though the air, waiting for the sudden stop at the end of the ride. However, I was luckier than I thought as I saw that I wasn't heading straight for the street, but the rooftop of a smaller building next door.

I braced for impact, landing back first onto the gravel roof. The wind was forced out of my lungs as I struggled to regain composure. I crawled to my knees, gasping for air whilst also looking for any sign of my attacker. I saw a small figure run across the roof quite a distance away. I watched as he jumped across a gap to the next building, firing what I think was a grappling hook towards the ledge where the hook impaled itself, pulling the figure up and over.

"Two can… play at… that… game." I wheezed, slowly standing up. Once I could breathe with comfort, I sprinted after the figure, performing the same grappling action he did up the next building.

With my natural night vision, I was able to spot the figure in the distance, running across the crowded rooftops of downtown. I growled as I took off after him, intending to catch up to him.

We ran for a few minutes over buildings and walls; I was slowly gaining on him, the murderer's form getting closer and closer. Now that I was close enough, I could at least see that the figure I'm chasing was not a he, but a _she._ The form wasn't large enough to be a man's, nor was it broad enough: the figure had the body and curves that denoted a woman's form. I continued to catch up until she rounded the corner of a rooftop access. I too rounded the same corner, but the instant I stepped foot around the access, my danger sense screamed in my head. On instinct, I dropped to my knees, sliding across the (luckily) concrete rooftop. As I did, something sharp, something akin to a spiked mace flew over my head. I turned myself as I slid, ending in a sort of crouched position with my hand on the floor to balance myself.

"You're fast, I'm impressed." Said my attacker. Her voice was modified, so I couldn't really tell at least how old she was, but going by her height and size I'd not too old. Now that I got a good look, I could see my attacker more clearly. She looked like a sort of blue medieval rogue, but I didn't look at her costume too closely as something else caught my eye. Her arms were covered in hundreds of spikes: the ones on her left arm were pressed up against her skin, but the ones on her right were upright, bristling out in every direction. I could see now that that arm was the thing that almost turned my face into a pincushion. And it was then that I understood who I was facing.

"I aim to astonish Ms. Nadder, or is it just Nadder?"

The Nadder remained unamused.

"That depends what you'd like to call me as you beg for your life." She replied darkly.

"Ooh, so this is one of _those_ situations." I tensed my muscles, ready to dodge at a moments notice.

"You've been quite the pain in the ass lately. My lady Red wishes to have you exterminated as quickly as possible."

"Well… I don't know whether I should be flattered or daunted. The big bad boss of the Dragons wants me dead. So you're gonna be the one to take me out then?"

"Yes."

My danger sense flared as the Nadder raised her arms in front of her. I jumped to the side as the spikes on her arms began to shoot out, activating combat vision as I did. I ran around the roof as the Nadder continued to launch groups of spikes from her arms at me.

 _Shit! I need to close the distance or I'm skewered._ I thought.

I kept running in a one directional circle around the Nadder as she continued to fire at me. With my danger sense added with my night vision, I was able to dodge spikes that got too close and see if any of them were shot in front of me. Soon, I noticed the Nadder began shooting spikes in front of me instead of at me, which was the chance I'd been waiting for.

As the next volley came flying at me, I suddenly stopped and made a beeline for the Nadder. She seemed confused for a second, but it quickly vanished as she began to, again, hurl spikes at me. I avoided a few spikes, but I was already too close for her to launch another volley. I ducked under her outstretched arms to try and deliver a harsh uppercut. However, her reaction time was almost as good as mine when she pulled her head back, evading my punch by a hair's breadth. I pulled back as well before she had time to counter attack, opting for a backwards roundhouse kick to the head. She once again dodged, escaping my kick and drew herself closer as my guard was down. I attempted to keep her away with a punch, but she anticipated this move as she threw her body to the side, catching my arm over her shoulder. The Nadder twisted her body around and heaved me into a judo flip. I landed hard on my back, the wind knocked out of me the second time tonight. However, I had no time to recover when my danger sense flared as the Nadder tried to step on my neck. I rolled to the side, a second before a _thump_ sound came from where I had just been. I got to my knees, panting to try and regain some composure.

"You're… good… I'll give you that." I wheezed

"Compliments will do you no good. You're a dead man walking." She replied, once again raising her arms.

"Can't blame a guy for trying. Could you at least…" The Nadder shot spikes at me once again. I barely dodged them this time, almost getting a spike to the eye. "Hey! I wasn't finished!"

"You're not so bad yourself Night Fury. Not many people last this long against me."

"Why thank you milady, I'm truly flattered. But serious question, why'd you kill that guy back there? I thought he was one of your guys?" I asked, referring to the tortured corpse of the Terrible Terror.

"That _ant_ was a fool. He went behind my queen's back, creating his own plans against her. The Gronkle was supposed to take care of him, however you and your friend buried her in seven feet of concrete. I was the insurance policy." The Nadder boasted.

"Oh really? And I suppose you're not just going to tell me his plans?" I asked in faithless hope.

"No."

"Then why mention it?"

"It's the least I can do for those about to die." She said, eyes narrowing as she placed the phone back into her pocket.

"Oh joy." I grumbled before taking a battle stance.

"Hey Toothless, think you could find out if she's got anything on her? A phone or a USB or something?" I whispered into my comm line.

" _Are you nuts?! Just run Hiccup, you can't fight her!"_ Toothless exclaimed

"I've got no choice. If I try and run she'll just keep hunting me down. I need to end this or at least get out with something to show for all this trouble." I stood in a battle stance, ready to fight at a moments notice.

" _Argh! Fine! Damn you, you idiot."_ Toothless sighed. _"If you can get close enough to her, I can download any device on her person that has any sort of data."_

"Good enough. How close are we talking about?"

" _Hmmm… I guess… within two feet?"_

"Seriously?!"

" _Well what do you expect?! I can't just snap my fingers and we'll be done!"_

"Ok, ok, fine! Gods this is going to hurt. How long do I have to stay around her?"

" _I'd say about two minutes."_

"Shiiiit!" I groaned, charging the Nadder. She immediately began firing spikes, but I'd already accustomed myself to the speed and accuracy of the spikes enough to dodge them with ease. I ducked low, pretending to try and go underneath the Nadder's arms for a second uppercut. So when she pulled her arms back to try and shoot me at point blank range. That's when I jumped into the air for a downwards flying kick. Nadder unfortunately rolled to the side at the last second and I landed on all fours.

I did my best not to give Nadder any time to recover, so I continued my attack, running at her full speed. She however anticipated this and instead of keeping her distance, charged me as well. She jumped up in the air for a superman punch. I pulled left, dodging the attack which hit the ground. However, that was just a feint as the Nadder spun around in a backwards spin kick. My danger sense went off, but I was stuck in a position where it would be impossible to dodge. An inescapable situation.

 _So there is a weakness to my powers._ I thought just as the Nadder's boot impacted my chest. The armor may have been the thickest around my chest, but it was still in a form of disrepair. That, added with the Nadder's innate metahuman strength pummelled the wind out of my lungs the third time. I managed to land on my feet this time, but Nadder – like myself – did her best to keep me off balance. She lunged at me for a heavy right punch, probably intending to end the fight there and now. However she underestimated my recovery time as I shifted my body to the right, outside her hit zone. I used the opening to grab hold of her arm, utilizing her momentum to bring her to the ground, thus pinning her down with my left hand on her shoulder and my right hand gripping her wrist where there were no spikes. This allowed me to put her in a position where she could not escape, and if she tried I'd be able to dislocate her shoulder at a moment's notice.

"How are we on the download Toothless?" I whispered

" _Still gonna take some time. I did find two phones on her, caller ID on one has it listed as the Terror's, but it's a pretty old phone so it might take a while longer to siphon the data off it."_

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do now? I've got one of the most dangerous people in the city in an arm lock here!"

" _I dunno! Just – get her talking or something!"_

I groaned as quietly as possible, my attention returning to the Nadder, who's eyes were glaring at me like daggers.

"Looks like I win this little skirmish Nadder. Care to tell me more about those plans you have?" I asked, trying as much as possible to hide the fact that I was sweating bullets.

"Ha, you think you've won? You think you've got me beat?"

"Well at the moment, yes."

The Nadder laughed.

"Alright, fine. I'll humor you. But you'll get nothing from me."

"Oh I haven't even started asking questions."

The Nadder laughed again, louder this time.

"Fool. Better men than you have tried to break me. They only ended up destroying themselves."

"Oookay, that wasn't ominous at all. Fine, since I trust that 'breaking you' won't work – as disturbing as that sounds – I'll just ask nicely: tell me what the Terror was planning. Oh and while you're at it, you could also give me the location of the Red Death. I'd _really_ appreciate it." I tightened my hold on her as I said this, pressing her shoulder harder to the ground and pushing her arm harder in a direction it's not supposed to go. I could see her eyes wince in pain, however they still remained defiant.

"When this stupidity is over, I'm going to make sure you suffer a slow and agonizing death." As much as I tried to suppress it, a shudder passed through my spine.

"Toothless where are we with the download? She is literally staring me to death."

" _Almost there… just a few more seconds."_

"I don't have a few more seconds!" I whispered/shouted. Turns out, I was correct.

The Nadder, tired of the situation, finally decided to strike back. She aimed her left arm towards me, my danger sense going insane as I tilted my head back, barely dodging a point blank shot. However, this was what the Nadder expected as she flung her legs backwards, locking my head in between her calves. I shouted in alarm as I was flung away, landing face first on the ground. I was dazed for a few moments, but I got my hands on the ground and began to push myself up. Yet, as I did, my danger sense began blaring in my head and I instinctively threw myself to the side as spikes suddenly appeared where I'd been lying a few seconds ago.

"Wow, okay. That was close." I said, pushing myself to my feet and looked to the Nadder who had her arms crossed.

"Oh really?" She replied, pointing downwards. I raised an eyebrow, looking downwards. What I saw nearly made my heart stop. There, protruding from the left side of my abdomen was a spike buried a good inch into my gut.

"Crap. You got me." I said, reaching to pull it out, when suddenly, my legs began to wobble and I collapsed to my knees. "What… what the?"

"Oh you're starting to feel it then? Good, I was hoping it would be a fast one." I could swear the Nadder was smirking beneath her hood, but it was hard to tell as my world began to swim and swirl.

"Whatz… happnin…?" I slurred, my words barely making sense.

"Well, since you are about to die I guess I can explain. As you may have noticed, my metahuman powers come from my spikes. I can launch them at will and they can regrow in a matter of seconds. However that is not all," As she spoke, my breathing became ragged and I started sweating more than usual. "There is a difference between my right and left arm. My right is what you'd expect, the standard spikes and such, but on my left arm? Each spike is grown coated in a fast acting poison that's effects vary from person to person. One spike could eat away at the nerves, or another could have you vomiting blood. It could last for hours or take the body in seconds. Either way, all of them always have the same result:"

" _Hiccup! Hiccup can you hear me?! The download is done, get out of there!"_ I could hear Toothless shouting, but he sounded so far away.

" **Death.** "

" _HICCUP!"_

I could feel my body slowly give out. My conciousness was fading fast and I only had a few seconds to move. With all the strength I had left, I reached into a pouch around the back of my waist, fishing out one of the last remaining smokebombs I got from Hammond during the flaming building incident. I could barely think, but I managed to throw the pellet with enough force to shatter it, a thick cloud of smoke spilling out into the air. I barely registered the surprise on the Nadder's face as I grappled over to the next roof and ran for dear life. Well… it was more like limped. I couldn't stop, couldn't think. All I knew is that I had to get as far away from her as fast as possible.

So it was only natural I made it two blocks before falling off a six story building.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Berk Rooftops_

 _Nadder POV._

 _Sloppy._ I thought, waving some smoke that began drifting around my face. I should have seen him pull out that smokebomb. That mistake cost me.

But that was impossible, he should have been paralysed, yet he had enough strength to run. And his combat ablilty? I've never seen someone skilled enough to last that long in a fight with me. He nearly exhausted all my spikes as well. Whoever this "Night Fury" is, he's no pushover.

Oh, sorry, _was_ no pushover.

If the poison didn't kill him immediately, then he should have collapsed by now. I'm certain he couldn't have gone far. In any case, I need to retrieve the body before anyone else stumbles on it.

I pulled out two things from my back pocket: an old flip phone that belonged to the Terrible Terror and my phone. I used my phone to dial a number, putting it to my ear as the dial tone began to ring. After a few seconds, someone on the other end picked up.

" _Well if it isn't the Deadly Nadder!"_ Spoke one voice

" _How may we be of assistance?"_ Spoke another similar sounding voice.

"I need some of your guys at my location. Doesn't matter how many, just enough to search a three block perimiter." I barked and the two voices laughed.

" _Oh Nadder, always so formal." "Yeah, lighten up a bit will ya?"_

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Cut the chit chat Zippleback, are you gonna do what I asked or not?" I growled

" _Alright alright, sheesh. No need to get testy." "We'll have a couple of pigs sniff around. Anything specific we're looking for?"_ I calmed my nerves and pushing back the urge to stab the two of them.

"The Night Fury." A collective "ooo" escaped the mouths of the Zippleback.

" _So you killed him?" "Already?"_

"Likely. But I need the body for confirmation. Are you guys in?"

" _Already on it." "Just leave it to us."_

"Good. We're looking for a man about five foot eleven, wearing a black coat, black armor and a cowl with two pointed ears."

" _KK." "We'll get back to you when he's found."_

With that, the Zippleback ended the call, leaving me alone on the rooftops. I sighed deeply, pulling down the bottom part of my mask. The warm breath escaped my lungs, taking with it all the stress of tonight's events.

The fighting. The killing. It was all so normal to me, so easy that now I place it on the level of "menial tasks". Still, I could do nothing about it. Killing is a part of me. It's a reason I exist. Without it, I'd go back to being afraid… being alone.

 _Dark, damp walls closed in… Heat not from the sun, but steel pipes running around me… Cold hands gripping my arms…_

"NO!" I shouted, shaking my head, banishing those thoughts to the back of my mind. I would not go back to that, to being weak. Never again.

" _You are not weak. You are born with power. You are a fighter. You are my Nadder."_

Mother's soothing voice reverbrated through my mind and I was instantly calmed. I am not weak.

" _I'm sure you're a really really nice person_ _…"_ The memory of that conversation stirred something inside me.

 _Gods if mother heard that…_ I shuddered, imagining how she'd react if she knew what I was doing in school.

But I just couldn't leave business unfinished. So maybe for a few more months I can stop being so strong. Maybe just be normal.

Maybe I can just be Astrid Hofferson again instead of the Deadly Nadder.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Oh come on, some of you figured it out a long time ago.**

 **If you didn't: #mindblown**


	18. Chapter 18

**WARNING: INTENSE EMOTION INCOMING**

Chapter 18: So Close, Yet So Far

 _Unknown Location_

 _Hiccup POV._

Oh great, I think I'm dead.

I was floating in darkness, I couldn't feel an up or a down or if I was moving in any sort of direction. Everything was just the same. Black.

 _Shiiiiit… This was not how it was supposed to end._ I thought. _Dammit, I didn't even get to do anything important. I wasn't able to make a change. It's all been a damn waste!_

My mind flashed to everyone I thought would notice my death: Hammond will probably be shocked, but he'll get over it, we haven't known each other for long so my passing probably won't really hurt him that much. Toothless is probably loosing his shit right now, but I can't tell if he'll be sad or relieved I'm gone. He makes it really difficult sometimes. I'm sure dad won't notice I'm gone till someone files a police report or something. And when he does find out what's he gonna think? Is he gonna think I'm a failure for dying like this? Or maybe he's gonna be pissed that I was running around the city every night looking for danger? Or there's the off chance he'll just start crying. That'll be the day. And finally, Astrid. She is the biggest enigma out of all. I was genuinely happy that she was actually acknowledging my presence, even more so that she trusted me. Problem is that we never really got the ball rolling you know? I mean, I know that she's leaving and all, and this may be the last chance I'll ever have to win her over, but I can still try. But now I may never get that chance. I hope they remember me, or miss me or something like that. I mean, I don't expect a statue in the middle of the city, but at least let my death change them. Maybe for the better.

 _Well, I guess I'm just gonna lie here for the rest of eternity. What fun._ I resigned myself to fate, letting my thoughts just drift away, relaxing, giving in to the blackness.

Then my mother's face as she lay dead in front of me jolted me out of my languor.

"No!" I shouted. I'm not going to just sit here and rot. My mother wouldn't have wanted me to give up. And I won't.

I began struggling agains the blackness, shoving my way through it. It was like swimming in tar, the darkness around me clinging to my limbs, trying to stop them from moving. To keep me here. But I'm not planning on staying.

I fought as hard as I could to keep moving, to push through the blackness to find some sort of exit. And surprisingly, I found one.

It was distant, but getting closer: a pale blue light breaking through the darkness. I battled the force that was trying to keep me in the dark, making my way to the light. I would not let the darkness take me, no matter what I would always fight for the light. It grew in size and intensity, eventually becoming as blinding as the sun, but I still kept my eyes on it and fought my way towards it. It was so close, yet so far. I threw my hand forward, reaching as far as I could for the light. I could feel its warmth on my fingertips… so close!

"COME ON! I'M NOT DEAD YET YOU LITTLE BASTARD, SO GET. OVER. HERE!" I roared, giving one last push.

And I grabbed it. The light was so hot, yet it didn't burn. It sort of felt good. I pulled it closer to my chest, the light pushing away the darkness, its black tendrils being forced back to wherever they came from.

Then I woke up.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Apartment Building_

 _Hiccup POV._

My eyes shot open. With a labored gasp, I forced air into my lungs as I sat up straight. I was breathing hard and sweating, but overall I was feeling fine. I took in my surroundings: I was lying on a wide couch in a simple looking apartment room. However, littered all around me were various items and trinkets from all around the world. Masks, totems, idols, animal bones you name it, there was something of everything in this apartment.

"What… what happened?" I mumbled. Then it all came back: the Terrible Terror's murder, fighting the Nadder, being poisoned.

 _How am I still alive?_ I thought, running my hand through my hair. Wait… wasn't I wearing my cowl?

My eyes widened as I started feeling my face. My cowl was gone. In fact, my entire top half of my suit was taken off me, leaving me shirtless on the couch with a blanket over the pants of my suit. My hands drifted to my stomach – where I remembered the Nadder's spike to be – to find that my torso was bandaged, gauze wrapping around my stomach.

"What the…?" I started, but the sound of the front door clicking made me tense. I tried to stand in an attempt to hide, but a sharp pain ripped through my left leg and I grunted in pain, falling to the floor between the couch and a coffee table in front of me.

"Ow! Fuck! Shit!" I groaned, putting my hand on the coffee table pulling myself up.

"Oh you're awake." Said a female voice. It was lightly accented, a touch of African tinging her words. I froze mid stand – my hand on the table and in a kneeling position – trying to hide my face from view.

"Stay back! I'm warning you!" I said, although I was more afraid for myself than trying to hurt her. I can assume she saw my face, so my identity is pretty much blown, but she doesn't know my name and I intend to keep it that way. And since I wasn't sure who exactly she is, I didn't trust her so I tried to make sure she didn't get another look at me.

"Really child, is this how you treat your savior?" She asked, likely with arms crossed and eyebrows raised.

"I-I don't know you. I can't trust you."

"Well why don't you tilt your head up and we can be properly introduced." I hesitated, afraid of loosing my secret identity.

 _Oh to Hel with it, she's already seen my face._ I thought before standing up slowly.

Now that I could see her, she was not who I expected to be rescued by. She had pale white hair, with a section tied off and light brown skin. She had large blue eyes with blue colored tatoos under her right eye. She looked about in her early 30's and was wearing blue jeans, brown boots, a dark green overcoat and light blue turtleneck.

"Uhhh… hi." I was weary to speak, as although she looked harmless, I had no idea if she was friend or foe.

"Hahaha, do not be afraid my friend. You are safe with me." She said as he took off her jacket. She approached me, I visibly recoiled and she laughed even more.

"Relax, relax. So paranoid; I'm only helping." I relaxed my posture, and so did the woman. She carefully helped me back onto the couch, careful not to let me put weight on my left side. Once I was safely on the couch, she placed her hands on the gauze around my torso and began to unwrap my bandages. I expected to see blood, guts and the like, but to my surprise there was barely any wound, only some light scarring as if something had impaled me.

"Woah, cool scar." I muttered, but I wasn't very quiet as the woman heard me and smiled.

"Yes, indeed. You heal surprisingly fast, the wound has already scarred over and I see no signs of pain." She said and I flinched.

"Oh… uhh… it's cause umm…" I tried to explain, but the woman laughed again.

"Haha, its alright, like I said you are safe with me so there is nothing to fear." For some reason, I trusted this woman. I couldn't explain it, but something about her just felt so… welcoming.

"Umm… ok. Thanks I guess, umm, miss…?"

"Kida."

The woman, Kida finished looking over my scar before going over to the kitchen, reaching into a high cupboard.

"Ok, Kida, where am I? How did I get here?"

"Oh, yes. Well, I was minding my own business, taking out the trash, when suddenly, you fell from the sky into my dumpster. You truly gave me a shock, but I saw you were bleeding and I just couldn't leave you there to die." She fished out a small pill container and came back to me, handing me the container. "By the way, that poison in your body was quite potent. So if you feel any sort of headache or dizziness, take two of these and drink plenty of water. And keep off that leg. I may have been able to treat that wound in your stomach, but you sprained your ankle when you fell so it may take a bit longer for that to heal on its own."

"Oh, uh, thanks." I said, awkwardly taking the container and shoving it into a pocket in my pants.

"As for where you are, you are in my home, and it is where you'll stay until you have recovered fully." She ordered

"Umm… yeah, not really sure about that last part." I adjusted my position on the couch, all the while thinking about how to get out of this sticky situation.

"You know, it is rude one person not to introduce themselves after the other has." She said, going over to the other side of the room, picking up a shirt then throwing it to me. It was the black undershirt I normally wore under my suit. I examined it, seeing there was a small hole on the stomach, but I decided I'd fix that later and put it on.

"Well, that would be true if I wasn't being hunted by the most dangerous gang in Berk." I retorted

"Ah yes, so I assume I shall be calling you Night Fury?" My eyes widened in surprise, but then I placed my hand on my face as I figured out how obvious that was.

"Yeah… that'll do." I said, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. Kida once again chuckled, sitting on a smaller sofa to my left.

"So, you mind telling me why I caught you falling into my trash?" She asked. I hesitated, but decided she deserved to know. I recounted my experiences from finding the Terror's body, till the Nadder poisoning me.

"I see you have had quite the night."

"No kidding."

Kida reached into her pants pocket, pulling out something and throwing it to me. I caught it mid air, examining it in my hand.

"Is this…?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

"Yes, it is the spike I pulled out of your stomach. Quite the lethal little thing. If I had not helped you. You would definitely be dead." I looked at the six inch spike that almost cost me my life.

"So, how did you save me?" I asked and Kida smiled.

"Trade secret. But don not worry, no one else knows you are here. It was I and I alone who treated you." Kida's reassurance did something to ease my increasing paranoia as I placed the pocket in my pants as well. Something to give to Toothless later.

 _Oh crap, Toothless! He must be tearing the city apart looking for me!_ I thought

"Kida, do you have my helmet? Or mask or whatever you wanna call it?" I asked frantically.

"Hmmm… oh, do you mean this?" She said, reaching under the coffee table and pulling out my cowl.

"Oh thank the gods!" I said, taking it from her, inspecting it for damage. When I was fairly sure there was no real damage, I placed it on my head and activated it.

"… _iccup… llo?"_ I heard from the communication line.

"Toothless! I'm here!" I exclaimed

" _Oh thank the fucking heavens Hiccup! You're alive! I thought you were dead. It's been hours since I lost contact. Are you okay?! How did you survive the Nadder?"_ screamed Toothless.

"I'm fine Toothless. I was pretty close to death but someone saved me."

" _Someone? What do you mean 'someone'?"_ I could hear Toothless' paranoia in his voice, but I reassured him that there was no problem.

"It's alright Toothless, Kida's trustworthy."

" _Kida? What kind of name is Kida? Alright, Imma do a little digging, see who this 'Kida' is."_ I sighed at this. I didn't really want to invade Kida's privacy, but if it puts Toothless at ease, then I won't mind.

"Yeah… you do that. Oh hey, I almost forgot: tell me what you got off of the Nadder." I asked, wishing that having my biggest near-death experience to date was worth it.

" _Well today's your lucky day, cause through your struggles I have come up with this:"_ Suddenly, out from the corner of my eye, an image blew up over my HUD, showing a series of – what loked like– text messages. One set obviously belonged to the Terrible Terror, yet the other set I had no clue. It was probably the Terror's partner or at least an associate of sorts. However, upon further inspection, my theory changed slightly.

"It looks like these were between Terror and his boss? But Nadder said he was going behind the Red Death's back so it must be someone else."

" _Hmmm… yeah. He says 'boss' and 'sir' a lot. Maybe he was planning to defect?"_

"But why? The Dragons are the biggest gang in Berk, who would wanna quit and join up with someone else?"

" _Maybe. Look here,"_ The string of messages scrolls down on its own, stopping at one particular message and zooming in:

 _TT: The preps r ready Mr. D. I gt u all the firepowr u need. All under big Red's nose ofc._

 _D: Make sure of it. I don't want the Dragons on my back just yet. Absolutely NOTHING can go wrong._

 _TT: U gt it boss. 100% no mess ups on my end._

 _D: For your sake I hope not. I paid you a lot of money to make this happen and if I find one single bullet out of place you can consider the rest of your reward gone._

 _TT: Yes sir. No fck ups sir. The raid on the tech demo is on schedule._

"Tech demo? What's he talking about? And who's 'D'?" I asked

" _Well, for the second question I've got no clue. There are probably hundreds of 'D's in Berk, but I'm working on some leads I can fill you in when you get back. As for your first question:"_ A projection of a newspaper article pops up in front of my face.

"The SFIT Demonstration?"

" _Yep. The San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. It's a pretty big Ivy league university all the way in the east. Pretty big robotics program. Heh, you think if they knew about me the nerds there'd beg for my application?"_ Joked Toothless

"Only if they can handle how annoying you are. In which case, I doubt it."

" _Jackass."_

"Toothless, focus."

" _Right right. So, the SFIT Demo is like this big event for kids who want to show off their genius to these big companies and the SFIT staff. Whoa, there's some pretty heavy stuff that's been displayed in the past. Oh cool, the first plasma cannon prototype made its debut there!"_

"Toothless…"

" _Yeah yeah I know. So the Demo usually takes place on the SFIT campus, but this year its trying to expand the University's application pool so guess where the demo is being held."_

"Berk." I muttered

" _Exactamundo. So you've got about two weeks before a vicious gang of thieves and murderers bust in the event, kill a few people, and make off with probably a prototype for a weapon of mass destruction."_ Toothless' description of the situation was oversimplified, but accurate. I began to wrack my brain for any possible way that I could stop this, and a plan began to formulate.

"Toothless, were you going to call the police about this?"

" _Oh I don't know, what would a normal person do in this situation? OF COURSE I'M CALLING THE COPS YOU MORON."_ Toothless may seem like an asshole now (as usual), but I understood this was his way of coping with stress.

"Well don't."

" _Say whaaa? Are you sure you didn't get brain damage or something?"_

"Think about it: how many cops on the force are in on this heist? So, giving away the fact we know about their plans, will make them to change their plans…"

" _Bringing us back to square one."_ Good, he gets the point. _"So what do we do? Sit back and let it happen?"_

"No of course not. But…"

As much as I want to handle this alone, I couldn't. The kind of firepower as well as the situation itself was more than I could handle. Sure I could go in alone, take out some bad guys and save the day, but if it's just me then I won't be able to stop them from getting away or stopping them from killing a whole bunch of people while they're at it. I need help. And I know just where to find it.

"My dad. I'll get my dad to help."

" _No no no no. Hel no. Isn't he trying to bring us in? Why would we ask him for help?"_

"If I know my dad, he won't stand by even with the smallest chance of innocents being killed. He's pretty cool that way. And he's a clean cop so we can trust him."

" _Grrr… alright fine. Anything else?"_ I could tell Toothless was already disgruntled, so this next request will probably give him a brain aneurysm.

"I want Hammond Thorinson on this."

" _That Matter manipulation guy? The one who helped with the Gronkle?"_

"Yep."

" _I swear to the gods you're going to kill me from the amount of idiocy you throw out. Fine… the other guy can come too. Anyone else? How about the mailman? Or that nice old lady from the grocery store checkout? I'm sure she can batter the thugs with rolls of discount cupons!"_ Yeah, I was wrong, I think he's going to start having heart attacks.

"Trust me Toothless. My dad can bring in extra security without raising too many eyebrows. And Hammond can help me with crowd control with his powers. It's the perfect plan-in-progress." I said, smiling. I felt Toothless wasn't smiling on the other end.

" _Alright dumbass. I'll meet you back at the warehouse."_

"I told you it's the Cove!"

" _Fine, I'll meet you back at the 'Cove'. Still don't like that name."_

"You don't like anything I do."

" _Exactly."_ With that, Toothless shut off communications and I was left with silence. Save for the grinning face of Kida.

"That was a very interesting phone call Mr. Fury." She said smirking. I took off my helmet and tried to hide the blush of embarrassment on my face.

"Crap, I forgot you were there. So you heard all that…" I said and Kida nodded. "Please tell me you're not secretly a member of the Dragons or Outcasts?"

"Haha, no such luck I'm afraid. I am just your average, run of the mill good samaritan." I knew it was dumb, but I let another sigh of relief escape me.

"Speaking of which, thank you again for saving my life." I said, once again making Kida smile.

"It was no problem Night Fury. You just keep doing what you are doing and help this city." Now it was my turn to smile. At least I know now that I'm doing something right.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door.

We both froze; I looked at Kida as if to question _"Who is that?"_. She answered by shaking her head.

 _I answer the door, you hide._ She mouthed. I nodded and silently made my way to a dark corner of the room where I dissapeared from sight.

"Coming!" Kida said, getting up from the couch and going over to the door. She opened it and was greeted with the faces of two men in suits.

"Hello ma'am. We're detectives Norman and Bjork. We have reason to believe a dangerous criminal is on the loose in this building." Said the first detective, Norman.

"A criminal?! Oh my word, here?!" Kida feigned shock and fear. The cops seemed to fall for it and I almost did as well.

"Now ma'am," said the second detective, Bjork. "There's no need to panic. We have the situation under our control and are close to apprehending the suspect."

"Oh dear I hope so." Damn, Kida's a good actor.

"In any case, have you seen any suspicious activity? Say like a man in a black trenchcoat about 5'11" with a strange helmet on?" asked Norman. I was tempted to jump out and say "It's not a helmet, it's a cowl", but that wouldn't be so wise so I stayed put.

"No… nothing really. I was in here the whole night reading."

"Really? Then who were you talking to? I heard voices." Retorted Bjork. I saw Kida's fists clench, but she hid it from the detectives behind my back.

"Yeah? Audiobooks, ever heard of it?" Kida's tone was playful, but annoyed at the same time.

"Of course ma'am. However, if you don't mind we would like to inspect the premesis for you, just in case." At this, both me and Kida froze.

"*Ahem… do you not need a warrant for that officer?" asked Kida a bit angry.

"It's detective ma'am, and this isn't an investigation. We're just doing a public service to help secure this apartment." Norman's tone was friendly, but I could tell the murderous intent in his eyse, and I think Kida could as well.

"… By all means." Said Kida, letting the detectives inside.

 _Crap._ I thought, readying myself for anything. However, I don't think I'd have much luck fighting with my busted ankle. The detectives began combing the inside of Kida's apartment: Bjork was looking around the kitchen whilst Norman scoured the living room. I on the other hand was snuggled up between a large stone statue and the window curtain which I used to sort of cover myself. My dark attire helped me camoflauge, plus with only the kitchen light on it was pretty dark in the room. However, I wasn't confident with my hiding spot as Norman came closer and closer to my hiding place. To my dismay, his eyes caught on my hiding spot, but I'm sure he didn't actually see me. Yet.

I could see him come ever closer, and his hand reaching to pull back the curtain I was hiding in. I clenched my fists, ready to deliver a hard uppercut as soon as I had the opportunity. He was literally inches away from me, but the gods were likely watching over me as he never got the chance to grab the curtain.

"Excuse me, are we done here? I'd very much like to finish my book." Kida complained. Norman grumbled angrily before withdrawing his hand and going over to Kida.

"Of course ma'am." Said Norman in a strained tone. "We'll be on our way now. Glad nothing's out of the ordinary. C'mon Bjork."

Bjork nodded, clearly as frustrated as his partner and they both shoved their way past Kida and out the door. Kida closed the door and heaved a sigh of relief, leaning on the door. She opened her mouth to say something, however, I shot my hand out of my hiding spot in a "stop" gesture. She closed her mouth, looking at me questioningly. I stuck my head out of my hiding spot and did a "keep quiet" action and she nodded. I activated sonic vision – happy my fall earlier didn't break it – and my heart stopped.

See, when the detectives left, I hadn't heard their footsteps leave the door, meaning they were either very very light footed, or they were still outside. My latter theory was proved correct, when I saw the skeletal images of Bjork and Norman standing outside the door. Norman's ear was pressed up on the door and Bjork stood behind him, both of them had their hands on their sidearms, ready to break down the door and start shooting everything. We all waited for several tense moments, neither the detectives nor we did anything but breathe. Soon enough though, I saw Norman look to Bjork, shake his head and take his hand off his holster. Bjork did the same and they both fixed their suits and began to walk away. I used sonic vision to spy on them as they left its radius, and once they did, I relaxed, standing up from my hiding place. Kida relaxed as well, going over to her couch and flopping down onto it, leaning her head back over the backrest.

"That was a close call." She said, laughing a bit.

"Yeah, real close. Look, thanks for all your help, but I think I should be going." I said.

"Oh no you don't, your leg still needs healing!" Kida glared at me but I chuckled a bit.

"I'll be fine. See, I can already walk." I took a few steps to prove it. The pain was still there, but it was more bearable than a few minutes ago. Kida still did not look pleased. "Ok ok, if I feel anything breaking I'll come back right away!"

Kida looked more assured, yet still displeased with my decision. However, she sighed and stood up, grabbing a notebook and pen from her coffee table.

"Fine. If you want to leave, I will not stop you." She said as she scribbled something on the notebook. She then ripped off a page and handed it to me. I inspected it and saw an address written on it, with a phone number at the bottom.

"Is this…?"

"My address and phone number. Remember Mr. Night Fury, if you ever are in need of medical care, do not hesitate to come here and I will be here to help."

"I-I don't know what to say. Umm… why though?" I asked. Kida smiled, going over to the couch and pulling something out from under it. She then came over and handed it to me: it was the top part of my suit and my coat.

"Because, you help people who cannot help themselves. It is a trait I admire in you people. And you remind me of someone I knew a long time ago." An emotion passed through Kida's eyes, however, it was just a flash and I didn't register it long enough to know what it was. I simply nodded and put on my suit.

Once I had my upper body armor on, I slipped into my coat, adjusting the sleeves before popping the collar up. I went to the window, opening it and letting the cool night breeze come into the room. I took one last look at Kida, seeing her smiling face one more time before saying:

"Thanks Kida."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Kida's Apartment_

 _No POV._

As Night Fury leaped out the window and onto the fire escape, Kida merely stood in the middle of her apartment, arms crossed and a smile on her face. However that smile dissappeared as fast as it came, being replaced with a sad frown. She walked over to her bedroom, opening the door and stepping inside. Her "bedroom" was really a clutter of books. There were more than hundreds of them: on shelves, in boxes and strewn all across the floor. There were tomes that looked to be at least hundreds of years old and there were those that looked as if they were bought from the bookstore just yesterday. Kida, though, knew her way around the chaos to a discarded looking box in the corner of the room. Signs of neglect came in the form of a thin layer of dust collected over the top of the box. Kida however didn't seem to mind as she picked it up, blowing the dust off the top. There, under the layer of dust, written in thick black ink was the year _1920_.

Smiling as she opened the box, Kida was greeted with the sight of various old age, 20th century exploration tools. You name it, the box had it: faded maps of the world, journals on various creatures known or unknown, navigational tools and photos of places around the globe. They were all black and white and a bit blemished, but one could clearly see its contents. Kida looked through all of these items, memories popping up here and there of which caused her smile to grow bigger and bigger. That is, until her eyes fell on a brown satchel at the bottom of the box. She slowly picked up the satchel, its leather texture surprisingly in near-perfect condition. She opened it, taking each of its contents out by hand. There were some writing tools, a compass and other miscellaneous knick knacks. Finally, the last items: a dark blue leather book, outlined in light blue steel with a spine in the form of a thin golden pole and a golden spiral with a dot in the middle adorning the cover.

"Ah, the _Shepherd's Journal._ Oh what secrets this held." Kida reminisced.

She opened the pages, looking through the images and words that – to the modern man – would make as much sense as a child's drawings. Kida understood it all and could have kept on reading for days if left to her devices, if not for a small object falling out from one of the pages. Kida stopped, unconsciously the book and picking the object up: it was a simple necklace with a brown leather lace and a single crystal hanging from it. But, the crystal was broken in half; the only part still connected to the necklace was a black, all of its luster gone. Kida, reached into her turtleneck and pulled out a similar looking necklace, only this time the crystal was not broken, shining a radiant light blue as Kida clutched both items in her hands.

She then looked at the fallen Journal, which happened to open to a page with a single photo on it. The monochromatic photo covered the whole page and in it were several people: on the very right stood an imposing man with dark skin, but a sweet smile. Next to him was an old woman wearing a helmet and some strange sort of headphones with a microphone and antenna. Next was another old man, this time he looked ragged and wore a stupid grin on his face. Then she saw a dark skinned girl holding a wrench. She was short in stature, but carried herself with a sort of confidence you don't normally see. Then there was a man with an angular head and a large bushy mustache with a stick of dynamite between each of his fingers. On the very right of the photo was a very stout man who looked almost like some underground creature, but still seemed human enough with his dirty aviator jacket and aviator's goggles with a lamp attached to the side. And finally, in the front of the photo stood three people. First was a well-dressed old man with a smile on his face and gleam in his eyes.

"Ah Mr. Whitmore. So full of life for one his age." Kida muttered. The old man, Mr. Whitmore, stood between two people, his arms draped across both their shoulders. On his left side was Kida in a strange sort of royal garb, smiling happily. And on his right side was a thin looking man with large spectacles and a similar gleam in his eyes that Mr. Whitmore had, only it was stronger and more pronounced.

Suddenly, tears began to fall from Kida's eyes, dropping onto the picture. Kida – in surprise – began to wipe the tears, laughing as she did so.

"Oh Milo…" she whispered before holding the photo closer to her body, not holding back her sobs of loss and heartbreak.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Definitely none of you saw this coming. Remember: Multicrossover.**

 **So say hello to the Forgotten Princess.**


	19. Chapter 19

**I forgot last chapter, it's the story's one year and one month anniversary!**

Chapter 19: Dinner With a Friend

 _Early morning, Dragon's Home Base_

 _Astrid POV._

This is just great. Zippleback's search turned up nothing, which meant either of two things: either Night Fury's body fell into a dump truck and is probably rotting in some landfill, or he managed to somehow both survive my poison and elude two trained police detectives. I truly hope, for my sake, the answer is the former.

This man has become increasingly more difficult to deal with. If he survived, the next time we meet I'll endeavor to throw a couple of spines trhough that fancy cowl of his.

 _Ok Astrid, one problem at a time._ I thought as I stomped through the hallways of our home base. _First you report last night to the Queen, then we think of all the ways to murder that man._

I pushed the doors to the main chamber open to find, to my dismay, a _very_ unwanted visitor.

"Ah, my dear Nadder!" Exclaimed the queen, still in her elegant red dress, sitting on her throne comfortably. "We were just finishing our meeting, weren't we?"

The other visitor was an unwanted presence. He wore some sort of viking age armor and looked rather skinny, though maybe that's due to his age. He wore on his head a helmet with two huge horns on the top and a metal faceplate covering his face.

"Why yes we were madam. Once again I thank you for your generous hospitality and your even more prolific agreement. I'm sure this will be beneficial for the both of us." The visitor bowed. My Queen smirked, gracefully hiding it by resting her face on my hand.

"Oh I hope so." She replied. With that the visitor stood straight and made his way for the exit, brushing past me as he did so.

"And hello my divine beauty! How was your hunt last night? I heard you snagged some _interesting_ prey." The visitor smirked under his helmet. I snorted in reply and shoved past him. He laughed before throwing the doors open and taking his leave. I continued to glare at his back, even after he'd exited the premises. After I felt I'd projected enough hateful vibes, I stood before my Queen and fell to my knees in respect, removing my hood and voice modulator as I did so.

"Rise child. What news have you for me." She asked. I stood and looked at her in the eyes.

"What was _he_ doing here?" I asked, not bothering to hide my displeasure. My Queen dislikes mindless drones and loves those under her to have a little spirit. Luckily I had a lot of spirit to spare.

"Oh don't mind that man my Nadder." My Queen's smirk grew wider. "We've decided to participate in a joint venture for his heist on the Demonstration. As… damaged as that man is, he's laughably easy to manipulate. Our grand plan will come to fruition ahead of schedule."

"Yes my Queen." I said, bowing my head in acceptance.

"Now enough about him. Tell me about your night, I heard from the Zippleback you have quite the surprise to spring on me." I clenched my fists in anger. Those Zippleback couldn't keep their mouths shut if their lives depended on it. And after this meeting it might just come to that.

"I had an encounter last night."

"Oh? I didn't believe the Terror would be of any challenge for you."

"No, the Terror quickly gave me what we wanted about that man." However, with this deal between him and my Queen, that information is completely useless to me. "I fought the Night Fury."

With that, my Queen's eyebrows raised and she stopped leaning her head on her hand, shifting forward on her throne ever so slightly.

"Oooo… do tell."

I recounted the events of last night to my Queen; from when I hid away as the Night Fury broke down the door to the apartment, to being able to shoot one of my poison spikes into his stomach.

"So he's dead? Well done Nadder." Congratulated my Queen. I felt myself brim with pride and joy at the praise from her, but I didn't deserve anything yet.

"Thank you my lady. But…" I said, trailing off. My Queen raised an eyebrow, looking at me suspiciously.

"You did kill him yes?" I felt the intense stare of my Queen batter my senses and if one looked closely enough one could see small wisps of smoke drift from her arms and face, especially her scar. I silently gulped, a cold sweat running down my brow.

"He… escaped. After I'd poisoned him he was able to pull a smoke bomb from a hidden pouch; which I thought to be impossible since he was supposed to be paralyzed from the neck down." I argued. My Queen maintained a dissatisfied expression, but the smoke stopped coming so that's a good sign she won't crush me.

"I see… in any case he won't be an annoyance for much longer. However I'll order the Zippleback to continue to search for the body or the man himself if your poison didn't kill him." My Queen stood from her throne and I immediately dropped to one knee. I bowed my head as I heard her bright red heels _clack_ down the steps of her pedestal. My eyes were wide with fear when she stopped, her slender legs standing right in front of my face. She bent over, cupping my chin in her hand, bringing me up so that I stood close to her.

"My dear Nadder," She said, using her other hand to stroke my hair. I tried to look as neutral as possible, but my lips were tightened to try and keep myself from screaming. "You're out of practice. You've been neglecting your duties as a Dragon and thus your skills have begun to decline. Hmmm… I think sending you to that school was unwise." 

My neutral image broke and my eyes widened as I shook my head.

"N-No my Queen! I've learned so much from school and, and…!" I started, but my Queen stopped me with a quick slap to the face. It was with her normal hand so it didn't break anything, but it still hurt, leaving an angry red mark on my cheek.

"Do not loose sight of our goal child." My Queen leaned in close enough so that I could see her eyes burn a fiery orange; I felt that if I stared too long she'd sear my soul.

"I sent you to that school for one reason and one reason only: when I found you, you had no education whatsoever. I have no use for uneducated dolts to serve under me, that is why I deemed it necessary to enroll you in that school. However, remember that the only reason that you have not been pulled out is because we needed more time to enact our plans. Now that they are coming into fruition, there is no more use for you to go to that school and that is final!"

I felt myself shrink before my Queen's overwhelming presence, even though she still held a firm grip on my chin.

"I-I understand milady." I whispered. My Queen then let go of my chin with a huff and proceded back to her throne, sitting down with a huff.

"Remember how close we are my child. Do not lose sight of your purpose." My Queen waved her hand in dismissal as I bowed my head and exited the main chamber.

Once I knew I was out of earshot, I let out a deep sigh of relief.

 _Oh thank the gods, I got lucky today._ I thought as I stepped out into the early morning air.

"Shit. The sun's up." I said, putting on my hood and mask. "Gotta move if I'm gonna get to school on time."

I raised my grappling hook and launched myself onto the rooftops, running to school and the entire time thinking about how to spend my last few months of normalcy.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Later, Bork High_

 _Hiccup POV._

The next day was – thankfully – uneventful. No crazy, life-threatening situations to wiggle out of, no bullies stuffing my head down a toilet, just a normal day at school for a not so normal teenager.

I had to come in a bit late today as my head felt like someone bashed it in with a jackhammer this morning. I think this is what Kida meant by "headaches or dizziness". Dad wasn't home again so I had to self medicate; luckily I had the pills Kida gave so I'd be fine in an hour or so. However, just to be on the safe side, I forged a letter from my dad's email saying I'd be a bit late to school today. Yes, I can hack my dad's email, but I only use it for emergencies and with good intentions.

Honest.

Anyways, I was a few minutes late to school, but it didn't really affect my day. The teacher just asked me to catch up with whatever I missed and I nodded, taking my seat. My day pretty much went: class, class, class, class, more class and then lunch. That's when things got a little interesting.

"Hey Hiccup!" Hammond shouted, slamming my back with his hand. This caused me to unceremoniously spit out the sandwich I was eating and begin a nasty fit of coughs.

"*Cough, Hammond, cough*. What is it?" I groaned, getting the last bits of sandwich out of my throat.

"Ssss… oh, sorry about that. So, heard you were sick this morning, ate something bad last night?" He asked, taking a seat beside me. I flinched as I recalled the events of last night and forced a smile on my face.

"Yeah… whatever it was gave me a pretty bad stomach ache." I subconciously began sliding my fingers over the new hole-shaped scar on my left abdomen.

"Well, hope you're still feeling up for tonight?" Hammond asked, his grin extra wide today.

 _Crap! I forgot about that!_ I thought as I began to have an internal fight to decide if I was going to cancel or go with our friendly dinner. I'm pretty sure Hammond saw the indecisive look on my face when I noticed his eyes narrow in thought, scanning the canteen for something. Out of nowhere he perked up, another grin on his face before he began to look at me maniacally. I raised an eyebrow and turned my head to see what he was looking at. That's when I almost had another heart attack.

There, walking out of the lunch line and heading in our direction was Astrid holding a tray of food with a somewhat distant look on her face. Following her was Snotlout's little gang, looking as haughty as ever. My eyes went as wide as dinner plates as I looked back at Hammond.

"No no no no, what ever you're planning, just no!" I warned but Hammond had already began. As Astrid past him, he stood up and gave her a light tap on the shoulder, probably trying to ask her to sit down next to us. However, that isn't exactly how it went down.

Astrid's eyes suddenly went wide, then in an instant she dropped her lunch and grabbed the arm Hammond poked her with, using it to judo flip him onto our lunch table. Thanks to my danger sense, I was able to avoid getting smacked on the head with Hammond's body, as well as save my lunch by moving it close to my body (it was a wonder the table didn't break). The entire cafeteria went into a stunned silence as all eyes turned to Astrid, still gripping Hammond's wrist and eyes fully open in shock.

"Ow…" Hammond wheezed. Astrid let go of his wrist and bolted out of the cafeteria.

"Babe!" Snotlout shouted, but his calls fell on deaf ears as Astrid dissapeared behind the cafeteria's double doors. He then turned his attention to Hammond in anger. "The hel was that Thorinson?! What did you do to my Astrid?!"

"*Cough, me?!" Hammond coughed, getting up off the table. "I just tapped her shoulder you boar-nosed airhead!"

This began a small argument between the idiot Snotlout and the other slightly less, but still idiotic Hammond. I however was not concerned with any of that: my eyes were still locked on the cafeteria doors pondering on what made Astrid react like that.

 _Timeskip_

 _Bork High Rooftop_

I left the cafeteria early in search of Astrid, maybe to see what's wrong, maybe even try to help her. I had a pretty good idea as to where she was hiding out as I stepped out of the roof access doorway.

My hunch was right: there she was… sitting on the edge of the school roof! The edges of the roof were fenced off, so it was surprising that she was able to make it to the top. I panicked, thinking she was about to do something really stupid, but she was just sitting there. I couldn't see her face, but I knew she wasn't crying, just swinging her legs back and forth in the wind.

"H-Hey! Please don't do something I'll regret seeing!" I said, coming ever so closer to her and she turned to face me. Her face was neutral, but I saw a tinge of pain in her eyes. She stood on top of the fence – nearly giving me a heart attack – and jumped down right in front of me. I backed off a bit as she blew her bangs out from her eyes, placing a hand on her hip and looking at me intently.

"What? You come here to 'avenge' your friend down in the canteen?" She asked with a trace of hostility. I flinched at the sudden bitterness, but tried to look as confident as possible.

"Well… he's really more of a concerned aquaintance than a friend. Besides that flip was pretty cool. Where'd you learn how to do that?" I asked and Astrid looked away for a brief second.

"I, uh, do martial arts training after school." She said, "Anyways, what do you want Hiccup?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing." I took a deep breath, "Why did you flip Hammond like that anyways?"

Astrid looked like I'd shot her in the stomach as she slowly sat down facing away from me.

"I… I've just been stressed lately. You know with me leaving and all, I've had to put up with a lot of crap from my family. Especially my mom."

Ah, Astrid was leaving, a fact I did not like to remind myself of. She never actually told me the details of her departure, only that It was soon, probably before the year ended.

"You know," I said, taking a seat beside her. "you don't normally talk about your family to anyone. What's your parents like?"

"Well, first off you should know I'm adopted." Woah, didn't see that coming. "I don't know who my real parents are – or were – all I know is that my mom took me away from my Uncle Finn. I've got a few brothers and a sister, all adopted like me, but we aren't really close. The only person I really think of as family is my mom."

Astrid looked slightly forlorn, and I couldn't help but pity her as well. So the only thing I could think to do was smile at her.

"Hey, it's not that bad! I'm sure your mom loves you too. You know, before my mom died we were pretty close. Granted I only have memories of her till I was ten, but they were good ones. Heh, I remember this thing my mom taught me. I was sort of menace when I was young, always getting into trouble, especially with my dad. So, whenever he'd get _really_ pissed off at something I did, he'd shout: 'you know why you act so bad Hiccup! It's cause me and your mother found you in the trash can!'" Astrid snorted and laughed for a second.

"Your dad, the _police detective_ , told you you were found in a trash can?!" She said and I shrugged.

"Yeah, he wasn't exactly the most gentle of parents, but I knew he was just angry so I didn't take it to heart. Anyways, he said that whenever he got really pissed off at me. So the next time he said it, my mom taught me what I should say back." 

"What did you say?"

"I said: 'dad, I think that's why I don't look as ugly as you do.'" With that, Astrid burst into laughter.

"What the hel? What did he say next?" She said, a smile on her face.

"Nothing. Dad was too shocked to say anything while my mom was loosing it behind his back. In the end he sent me up to my room without TV privilages for the next month." I laughed at the memory, I could still see how red my dad's face was and the tears of laughter coming from my mom.

"You were a sassy ten year old you know that Hiccup."

"Yeah, I was pretty cool when I was young. Ah, what I wouldn't give to do that again." Through my attempt to cheer up Astrid, I inadvertedly caused myself to feel a sort of heavy-heartedness for those times. But years of experience with these emotions taught me to hide it well.

"Well my mom certainly isn't anything like that. Shes… tough on her kids. Especially me. Always has such high expectations, like she expects me to rule the world or something." Astrid's comments hit me hard. I could relate. My dad is sort of the same as her mom, high expecations, low tolerance for failure.

"I can relate. My dad isn't exactly the most supportive parent either. Heh, maybe our parents should meet, get together for the 'dissapointment club'." I joked

"Uhm… I doubt they'll get along well." Astrid smirked.

"What? Afraid we'll be step-siblings in the near future?" Astrid began a hysterical fit of laughter that was probably some inside joke with her so I just smiled awkwardly. She stopped laughing, a smile permanently on her face as we both just watched the clouds float by.

"So…" I started out of nowhere. "Hammond invited me to dinner tonight."

"Oh my, Hiccup, is there something you want to tell me?" Astrid joked

"N-No!" I said, slightly flustered. "T-This is strictly on friends-only basis! Straight as an arrow! Not that it's bad or anything to be… yeah I'm just digging this grave deeper aren't I?" Astrid began chuckling once more and shaking her head.

"Ok, so the Hammond I threw onto a table invited you to dinner. What's your point?"

"Well, I think it's a good opportunity for you to apologise to him." I offered, cringing slightly at my idea. Astrid's eyes widened ever so slightly and I couldn't help thinking that this was a bad idea.

"I dunno Hiccup. Will he even want to see me after what I did?"

"Oh I'm sure it'll be fine. Hammond's a nice guy; he's probably already forgotten what happened. Besides, I think we both need a break from our families for just one night. So, are you game?" She sat with her hands on her knees, facing the edge of the roof. There was a tense few seconds of silence while Astrid thought of the pros and cons when finally, she looked back at me.

"Ok. I'll come." In my head I started doing summersaults and a tiny crowd started cheering my name. But outside, I was cool as ice.

Ok, maybe not _ice_ , more like as cool as a slightly warm waffle iron. Which, probably wasn't very cool.

"Uh, uh, great!" I stuttered. "I'll email you the address."

"How bout I give you my number and text it to me?" She asked and I – a little bit starstruck – handed her my phone.

"Sure." I said dumbly as she inputted her number and handed my phone back to me. We would've both stayed on the roof, but we could hear the bell ringing and realised how long we were on the roof.

"Well, see you later then." Astrid said, heading off to her last few class blocks, leaving me alone on the roof, once again watching her leave. I sat for a while, just thinking when a realisation hit me harder than the Gronkle.

I just asked Astrid Hofferson on a date.

Holy high Asgard I just asked Astrid Hofferson on a _fucking_ date.

I have to tell Toothless.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: House Call

 _Hammond's Apartment_

 _Hiccup POV._

Ok, last time when I said I'd tell Toothless, I don't know why I expected a congratulations or some sort of _normal_ reaction, but I did. What happened was he laughed in my face for acting like a lovestruck idiot and said he'd keep the Night Terror patroling the city to search for danger I can throw myself at. After that he told me to get the hel out of his house and get running to my "date" with Astrid.

Actually now that I think about it, it's not _really_ a date, more of a get together with friends. But it still felt like a date as I came to the entrance to Hammond's apartment complex in my best looking clothes which consisted of a forest green polo over a black shirt with a blue fire design on it, jeans and fairly clean white sneakers. I audibly gulped, nervous for absolutely no comprehensible reason as I saw a familiar head of blonde hair round the corner. She wasn't wearing any sort of formal wear or makeup, but she still make my heart skip a beat. I mean sure I was getting more confident with talking to her, but I was still like a fish out of water – no pun intendend.

I was so zoned out that I didn't even notice her come up to me in her dark green shirt, brown skirt and studded leather headband. She waved her bandaged hands in front of my face and I snapped out of my trance.

"Hiccup? Are you okay? You seem distracted." She asked. I swear I probably looked like an idiot as I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

"Yeah! Yeah, you're perfect… I mean, I'm perfect… no wait! I'm perfectly fine! Yeah, I'm ok." I spazzed. I felt my cheeks turn red as Astrid laughed a bit.

"Come on, Hammond's probably waiting for us inside." She walked up to the lobby entrance of the apartment and I followed. We went up about six floors to get to his apartment: a plain wood door with a bronze handle and _6D_ plastered on the front. I rang the buzzer and we waited till we heard the sound of rushed footfalls. The door opened to reveal Hammond wearing an apron, his unusual eyes glittering with excitement.

"Hey, you guys made it!" Hammond said, brushing his hands over his apron. "Come in, come in!"

"Thanks." Astrid said, a bit more nervous than usual as we were led inside the living room and seated on a couch right outside the kitchen. The kitchen and the living roon were separated by a small divider and a pillar, so the smell of a freshly cooked meal wafted all around the apartment.

"My mom's out on some big case so she probably won't be home tonight." Hammond said, going back to the kitchen to put the finishing touches on his food.

"I didn't really believe you when you said you could cook Hammond." I said, trying to keep my mind from wandering over to Astrid.

"Well now you do." Hammond came out of the kitchen carrying three plates. He then set them all down on a coffee table in front of us.

"I hope you like pasta." In front of us was a plate of – rather delicious looking – red sauce pasta.

"If it's good, I'll eat it." Said Astrid and we all began to dig in.

You could say we all got along well, but then I'd be lying. In truth, conversation was quite stale; the first fourty minutes or so consisted of Hammond trying to start up a topic, and then either Astrid or me shutting it down with a one line answer. That is until we turned on the news.

" _And in other news."_ Said the reporter on TV, _"The people of Berk are still split on their opinions of the infamous The Night Fury."_

The image shifts to a series of interviews of people on the streets.

" _He's a menace! Sending people to hospitals with broken bones and torn muscles. He's out of control!"_ Said a dark skinned man in a suit.

" _Ey man, I don't care if he's a man or some weird monster freak, he's tryin' to keep the gangs off the streets an' that's good enough for me."_ Said a teenager.

" _I saw him! Swoopin' down from his nest or whatever, pullin' people off the streets an' eatin' them!"_ Said a man with tattoos and piercings all over his body.

" _I think he's a hero. Or at least trying to be, but he's cleaning up the streets better than the police are."_ Said a diner chef over the counter.

"Man, the Night Fury's really making waves." Hammond said as he placed his pasta bowl on the table.

"I for one don't like him." Said Astrid, and I winced at the comment.

"Why not? He's beating up bad guys and saving people's lives! And I'm pretty sure the thing about him eating people's a lie."

"He's doing nothing." At this point Astrid too put her pasta down and looked at Hammond seriously. "This 'Night Fury' is like a fly: the more he buzzes around bothering the wrong people, the more dangerous it's going to get for everyone, especially the people around him."

"He's a hero!"

"He's a nuisance."

"Hiccup, what do you think?"

Hammond's request surprised me and I choked on my pasta, coughing.

"*Ahem, I… uhh… I think he's just trying to help out?" I said nervously.

"Okay." Astrid said, "You all remember that burning building incident some time ago?"

"Of course, it was all over the news." I replied.

"Three people died in that fire. One was burned alive, and the rest died from smoke inhalation. You call that helping?" My hands involuntarily froze. Three people? I had no idea. I only saw the one. Was it my fault? 

"It was the police who firebombed that place. If anybody is to blame it's them!" Hammond argued.

"Oh, so you expect the _entire_ BCPD to put themselves in handcuffs?"

"No, just the corrupt ones. Look, Night Fury may be doing things outside the law, but if you think about it, the law here is pretty broken."

And the argument continued. It was really awkward as I was the only person who knew that the Night Fury was in the room with them while they openly expressed their opinions about him. The gist is that Hammond thinks the Night Fury is a hero who's doing a better job than the police while Astrid feels he – or I – is a menace to everyone, including the normal people.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, we all heard an alarm blare throughout the apartment. While Hammond and I jumped a bit, Astrid calmly reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone – the source of the alarm.

"Is someone calling?" I asked just to have a reason for them to stop arguing.

"No, I got a text." She replied.

"You have a fire alarm on your phone for _text messages_?" Hammond said, a bit shocked.

"It's an important contact." She said as she opened her phone and read the message. I wasn't sure what the look was that crossed her face, but she didn't seem happy at all.

"Something wrong?" I asked

"I gotta go." Astrid suddenly stood up and went for the door.

"Astrid…!" I started to stand up, but she was faster than me and before I knew it, she was out the door. I sat back down, defeated, and Hammond placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Umm… sorry Hiccup. That was probably my fault; I know you had good intentions bringing her here, but I don't think we get along very well." I looked at Hammond, his expression sincere.

"No, I should've prepared more for this. It's not your fault Hammond, but thanks for trying." I stood up as well. "Thanks for dinner Hammond, you're a really good cook."

I made for the door – surprised that Hammond didn't try and stop me – when I remembered something important I was supposed to do.

"Oh, by the way Hammond, some guy on the street handed me this, told me to give it to you." I took out a piece of paper from my pants pocket and gave it to Hammond, who looked at it perplexed.

"What is this?" He said, unfolding the paper to find a phone number written on it.

"No idea. He said you know each other though, told me to say thanks for helping him out at that bonfire a few days ago." I watched Hammond look even more confused, but as the gears turned in his head his eyes finally widened.

"W-Who gave this to you?!" He asked frantically and I shrugged.

"I didn't catch him. He was wearing a hoodie and it was dark out. Although he did tell me if you asked who he was to give you one of these." I pulled something else out of my other pocket and dropped it into his hand. I don't know if I'd ever seen anyone's eyes go this wide before as Hammond stared at a small silver pellet in his hand like a fish out of water. It was one of the smoke pellets he gave me during that burning building incident and I'm sure he knew that as well.

"T-Thanks Hiccup." Hammond said

"Yeah. Hey, are you okay? You seem freaked out." I feigned concern, knowing full well he was probably doing backflips in his head. He didn't reply for a few seconds and I coughed, catching his attention.

"Uh uhm, yeah! Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry, this is just… wow."

"Okay then," I said, opening the door "say hi to your friend for me."

"Uh huh." Was all Hammond could say as I slipped out the door. I reached the exit to Hammond's apartment, looking to my left and right in the hopes of finding Astrid walking off into the distance. She wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Damn." I cursed, sighing heavily. "Looks like my plan backfired. Gods I hope that wasn't the last memory we had with each other. Suddenly, a buzzing eminated from my right pocket. As I walked away, I fished out a second hand flip phone I'd bought a few days ago. I had Toothless modify the reciever to include a voice modulator so Hammond wouldn't recognise my voice. I took one more breath as I tapped the _accept call_ button and placed the device against my ear.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

 _Hammond's Apartment_

 _Hammond POV._

I couldn't believe it. If my assumptions were right, the Night Fury just gave me his number. The freaking _Night Fury_ gave me his number. I slapped myself out of my shock, scrambling for my cell phone. I hurriedly dialed the number on the paper and held the phone against my ear. For a tense few seconds, I could only hear the dial tone buzz, until someone picked up.

There was now silence. Tense silence pierced my empty apartment and I was beginning to get nervous.

"Hello…?" I said unsurely.

" _If you're expecting some telemarketer on the line,"_ said an altered voice on the other line, _"I'm happy to say you'll be wrong."_

"No way. Night Fury?"

" _The one and the only."_ I internally screamed; this was a pretty big moment for me, talking Berk's first and only vigilantee hero over the phone like we were friends.

"I-I don't know what to say! H-Hi!"

" _Hi. You're probably wondering why I've decided to contact you."_

"Yeah, amongst other things." I took a seat on my couch, leaning forward in anticipation.

" _Well, to put it plain and simple, I need your help."_ Now I was really excited.

"My help?! Like how? What's happening? Is anyone in danger?!"

" _Woah, relax. No one's in danger. Not yet anyways. Look, the gist of it is that there's going to be a heist on the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology demonstration in about two weeks."_ I'd heard about the SFIT demonstration; a few friends of mine from a few years ago - before I'd moved to Berk - said they were trying their luck.

"Yeah, I've heard about the demo. So, who's attacking? Let's bust down their door and stop them before they even try anything." It was a good plan in theory, but in all honesty it's pretty reckless.

" _I'd prefer that over fighting them on the day, but I don't know exactly who's attacking the demo, only that they're packing some heavy weaponry and are skilled career criminals."_ That did not boost my confidence.

"So what do you want me to do?" I asked

" _Just be ready in about two weeks. I'll need your help on protecting the people at the demo. They'll be caught in the crossfire and I can't protect them and take out the thieves at the same time. So, you in?"_

"Is that a question? Hel yeah I'm in! Just tell me when and where." I could feel the Night Fury smile on the other side of the phone.

" _Perfect. Just be in the site of the demo, the BCX convention center on the day. If and when the shooting starts, be ready to evacuate the building. I'll try and get the police to help but no promises so it might just be the two of us."_ I nodded absentmindedly, then I realised that I was still on the phone.

"Yeah! Yes, I got it. See you there."

" _Yeah, see you."_ With that, the Night Fury hung up and I was left sitting on the couch with a grin on my face.

"Unbelievable."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **I wonder who'll see the foreshadowing here. I'll give you a clue, another crossover inbound.**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: The Showcase

 _BCX Convention Center, Two Weeks Later_

 _Hiccup POV._

One word to describe today? Bullshit. Utter, complete bullshit. My plan two weeks ago was to sneak out of school for the SFIT demonstration. Then a week before the demo, the school announced that we – the junior class of Bork High – were having a field trip to the demo to "immerse the class in the wonders of science". This was a thrill for most of my class, as they'd all heard stories of the amazing inventions and cool gadgets on display. However, for me, it was like someone kicked me in the chest. Astrid had called in sick on the week of the field trip, and I don't know if she's really sick or avoiding me because of what happened at Hammond's house, but I'm getting the vibe that it's the latter as the week prior I barely saw her, and when I did there was minimal interaction.

Aside from worrying about Astrid's opinion of me and the hundreds of people attending the event, I now had to worry about the twenty or so students of my class. Sure some of them aren't exactly the best characters, but they're still just teenagers, about to be caught in a bad place at a _very_ bad time. I could see Hammond was worried too, as he was the only other person in the school what was about to happen at the demonstration. However, neither of us could get the field trip cancelled without arousing suspicion, so we let the week roll by, both of us tensely anticipating the day itself.

And then it came.

The bus ride to the BCX was horrid; being enclosed with Snotlout and the twins for fourty minutes in a bus full of noisy, hyperactive teenagers is not a fun experience. I know that a bus ride with a gang of bullies couldn't compare to being shot at by a team of criminals, but I had Toothless stash my suit and cowl inside the BCX the night before the demonstration so I wasn't worried on that front. I don't know how Hammond expects to go up against armed thugs in jeans and a t-shirt, but I'm hoping he has some sort of plan.

The class arrived at the BCX convention center, relieved to finally be out of the cramped bus. We all stared in awe (some in boredom) at the hundreds of people – local Berkians and some visitors from out of town – pile into the entrances. The BCX itself was a grand, steel building. It's exterior was mostly glass though with steel poles running everywhere to keep the building stable. It's one of the more modern additions to the city after the counsel commisioned it only four years ago, where it opened two years later.

We all were led through the entrance and greeted to an awe inspiring view. Hundreds of stalls littered the floor of the BCX; no stall was the same size, some were big, some were small, but the all had a myriad of technological and scientific wonders on display for all to see and experience.

"Woah… too bad Toothless isn't here to see all this." I muttered as the teacher called us all to attention.

"Alright class," She said "we're going to be here for the next two hours. You are all free to roam around the convention for the next hour and a half until the start of the Demonstration Showcase, where we'll all meet at the stage in the special area marked for us. Understood?"

All the students shouted yes, excited to be free from our teacher's watch.

"Good. Everyone, disperse." With that, everyone took off running, eager to play around with the experiments and advanced machinery present in the demo. I however, cautiosly roamed around, spying for any sign of danger.

"Hiccup?!" I heard someone shout. When I turned around, there I saw my dad staring at me with his usual stoic expression.

 _Gods… I forgot he was here._ I thought as I quickly sighed. He approached me and led me off to the side.

"What are you doing here? I thought I told you not to come." He asked in concern, although his tone made it sound more like scolding than worry.

"Dad! Funny seeing you here!" I feigned ignorance, but I knew he wasn't buying it.

"Hiccup, you aren't supposed to be here! I told you I had a bad feeling about today. And I thought you needed parent consent to go on this field trip." He crossed his arms.

"Oh come on dad, this isn't the first time I've disobeyed your orders." I knew that my dad knows that a raid is going to happen at the demo – I was the one who told him – but I needed to be here. Not as Hiccup, but as Night Fury. "Besides, this is a technologies demonstration. Nothing dangerous here."

Just as I said that, I heard a _pop_ sound. We turned to see a stall covered in ash, along with the person inside it. I hissed, looking back to my dad who was _very_ unamused.

"Hiccup, go home, it's not safe here." He said. Now I could see the concern in his eyes, but I had none of it.

"Look dad, if something is going to happen, you can take care of it. I know you can." I said. Before he had a chance to reply, I ducked around him and dissapeared into the crowd.

I know, that was a bit of a dick move running from my dad like that, but I needed to get away from him otherwise I won't be able to change into my suit for when the attack does happen. I still remembered the conversation on the phone I had with him the week before in my Night Fury persona.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Flashback, One Week_

 _No POV._

 _The personal cell phone of Stoic Haddock buzzed in his pocket as he sat in his office at the BCPD. He was a bit surprised as he didn't know who would be calling him; not a lot of people had his private number and those that did only called once in a blue moon. He pulled his phone out and saw that it was a blocked number. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion as he moved to close the blinds of his office and pressed the "accept call" button._

" _Hello?" He asked cautiously._

" _Hello Lieutenant. Don't be alarmed, but I need your help." Replied a modified voice._

" _You need help, dial 911, they'll be happy to assist you." Stoic was about to hang up, until the voice on the other end said something that made him stop cold._

" _Hundreds of people will die." Stoic didn't move. He couldn't tell if this was a concerned citizen or threat from a terrorist. But he couldn't take the chance._

" _Who are you? How did you get my number?" He asked_

" _That's not important. What's important is that if you don't listen to me, hundreds of people will be shot dead."_

" _And what makes you think I believe you for even a second?"_

" _We're still talking aren't we?" The voice got Stoic there. The lieutenant sighed heavily and sat in his chair._

" _Alright, let's say I do believe you and hundreds of people_ are _in danger, who's to say that you're not the one pulling the trigger?"_

" _Fair enough. Although, you should know I don't really like guns. But, if you're really taking me seriously, then I'm warning you now: in one week the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology demonstration at the BCX convention center will be robbed by a team of armed and dangerous criminals." Stoic was at a loss for words. Just for a few moments befor he regained his composure._

" _Are you sure? This isn't some sort of trick is it?"_

" _If this is a trick, then we've got flying pigs roaming the city skyline." The voice said sarcastically. "Look Lieutenant, believe me or don't, there_ will _be a robbery with hundreds of people caught in the crossfire. Don't tell me you're going to dismiss this warning just like that? If you believe me, then you have the opportunity to save all those lives. If you don't, then good luck explaining to the families how their loved ones are six-feet-under because the Stoic Haddock did nothing to protect them."_

 _That got Stoic in a bind. Believe the voice and accept the fact that there are hundreds of people in danger, or brush him off and risk all their deaths._

 _It wasn't a hard choice._

" _Alright. I believe you." Stoic sighed._

" _Perfect. I'll be expecting your assistance on the day of the demonstration."_

" _Wait! Who are you? I don't like trusting a faceless voice."_

 _The voice laughed at this._

" _Oh Lieutenant, we've already met. You chased me into a burning building remember." Stoic didn't understand what the voice said, until the pieces fit together in his head and he stood up abruptly._

" _Night Fury?!"_

" _Goodbye Lieutenant. Good chat." With that, the Night Fury hung up, leaving Stoic fuming at the fact that a vigilantee criminal has his phone number, and that he had just offered his assistance to that same criminal._

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _Present_

 _Hiccup POV._

Yeah, fun talk. I began to roam around the convention, both for exploring the different displays and searching for any suspicious activity. I spent the rest of the time just roaming around, until something eventful finally happened. It wasn't gunshots and panic like you expect, but a different sort of eventful.

As I crossed the length of the convention center, still surrounded by dozens of people either here for the techological marvels on exhibition or here to prove themselves to the SFIT staff for admission. I would be lying if I wasn't awestruck by the whole thing. When I was young I used to want to be an inventor or a scientist like mom, but I guess that dream died with her. Still, I didn't let myself become stupid; I've tried some inventing in my spare time, although I didn't have the drive to do it regularly.

Suddenly, of nowhere, my danger sense warned me of an incoming projectile. First I thought it was a bullet, but as I ducked out of the way, something flew over my head.

I looked to what flew over me, surprised to see something very strange. It basically looked like a mess of wires and computer chips, all squashed into a small steel frame. The steel frame itself looked like a small dog: on all fours, its head reached about halfway up my shin. The look was completed by a set of blue ears flopping around the side of its head and a coiled tail that was wagging left and right. Its face was strange too, as it seemed to be the only part of it that was completed. It was coated in a white plastic exterior and its eyes, nose and mouth were just lights that moved and changed to look like a face. Right now the "dog" was smiling with its virtual tongue hanging out.

" _Bark!"_ the dog's voice sounded like a recording, but it seemed real enough as the front half of it crouched down in a playful gesture.

"Uh… me?" I asked, pointing to myself. I felt a small tingle in the back of my head, but it didn't feel like my danger sense was warning me of anything so I thought it was just a small itch. Boy was I wrong.

"Out of the way!" Shouted a voice. I turned, only to be tackled to the ground.

" _Bark!"_ the dog yelped as the I stood up, brushing my clothes.

"Ouch." I deadpanned, putting a hand on my neck and twirling my head around. It was then that I got a good look at who tackled me.

He wasn't one of the robbers that's for sure; he looked like another student, only I'd never seen him before. I surmised that he was from a different school, or a different country entirely. He looked a bit asian, meaning he definitely wasn't from Berk (this city has the racial diversity of a small fishbowl). He wore simple jeans and sneakers with a beige blazer. Underneath the blazer was black shirt that had some text in an asian language printed on it but also with the words: _San Fransokyo Ninjas_ printed at the bottom along with a baseball cap in the same design resting on his head.

"I am so sorry guy!" Said the student. I raised an eyebrow as I helped him stand up, as he was still sitting on the ground.

"Yeah, no problem… guy." I said unsurely. We were both broken from our awkwardness as the strange robot dog barked once more.

"Why you little! Come here!" Said the student, making a grab for the dog. It tried to run away, but it wasn't fast enough as the student wrapped his hands round its stomach and held it to its chest.

"I assume that's yours?" I asked.

"Uh, haha, yeah. She's mine." The student rubbed his head and smiled. "Sorry about bumping into you earlier, but the little rascal hates putting on her exterior, so she gets a bit jumpy."

" _Her_?"

"Oh yeah, right. This is Inu, my robotics project. Say hi Inu." At the student's command, the dog – Inu – yelped happily.

"Hi… Inu." I waved back reservedly.

"Ah, right, where are my manners!" The student hit his head with the palm of his free hand. "The names Tadashi, Tadashi Hamada. I'm a student at the Kiu Academy in San Fransokyo."

Tadashi held out his hand and I shook it.

"Hakon, Hakon Haddock. I'm from Bork High."

"Oh hey, a local guy! Cool! I'm just visiting but I already find your city really interesting. Wish my brother was here to see it too, but he's in middleschool so he's got classes." Tadashi seemed like a very jovial person and – if I'm being honest – made me feel less tense about today.

"Well if he does come, here in Berk we have attractions ranging from street muggings to corrupt police departments. You can take your pick from our travel agency." I half joked and Tadashi laughed.

"Haha, good one. So… hey, are you… uh, watching the showcase?"

"Yeah, with the rest of my class. Why?"

"Well, me and Inu over here are gonna be on stage." Tadashi leaned in close and whispered: "Need to impress the SFIT eggheads this time you know…"

Tadashi pointed to a crowd of men and women in suits who were inspecting some nervous looking, freakishly tall blonde girl's science experiment.

" _This time?_ There were other times?" I asked and Tadashi backed away laughing awkwardly.

"Yeah, last year's demo went… explosively bad." Tadashi cringed at the thought and even Inu whimpered. However, his demeanor quickly returned to its normal happy state. "But, this year is going to work because Inu here now runs on rechargable instead of my own special power source."

"That's… great, I guess." I chuckled. It was then a look of panic flashed through Tadashi's features. "What is it?"

"I'm still supposed to put on Inu's exterior! Inu, time?" Inu barked happily before its face display turned into a digital clock.

 _4:35._ Tadashi heaved a sigh of relief and wiped some sweat off his brow.

"Whew, still got time. Well, see you at the showcase Hakon!" With that, and a bark from Inu, Tadashi ran off into the crowd, leaving me alone in the sea of people.

"That was weird." I remarked as I followed the flow of the crowd, doing one more sweep of the building before the showcase.

 _Timeskip_

 _Hiccup POV._

I surveyed the entire convention center five times in the last hour and thirty minutes and came up with nothing. No suspicious activity whatsoever. Although the criminals could just bust in any thime they want, I saw my dad's extra security around the building: some trustworthy friends from the BCPD and a few private security guards. Don't know how he got those but I don't mind their presence.

Eventually, my free time came to an end and was forced to meet up with the rest of my class for the SFIT showcase. We were all led to a special area near the side of the center, close to the stage but not exactly in the center of everything. Most of the people were still roaming around, but some gathered around the stage like us, awaiting for the showcase to begin. And begin it did when a well dressed man took the stage, a mic in his hand.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology's annual Science Showcase, and to those streaming this online, we are here in the city of Berk! I'll be your emcee for tonight and let me tell you, we have some exciting participants this year. Now, let's meet our first demonstrator!" The emcee began introducing a series of people, all of whom began showing off their inventions and innovations to the crowd. Some were genuinely extraordinary, others… not so much. Soon the number of presentors became thinner and thinner, until the last few were left. One of them was the guy I met before, Tadashi Hamada.

"And next we have here Tadashi Hamada from Kiu Academy, San Fransokyo!" Tadashi came out from backstage, waving his hand to the crowd. The crowd likewise applauded as he placed Inu, now in her full exterior on the ground in front of him. She looked shut down as her face was devoid of its glowing expressions.

"Hi everyone." Tadashi's voice echoed across the convention center. "My name is Tadashi Hamada and I'm here to present my dog, Inu."

He stepped to the side and waved his hands at Inu who still sat motionless. The crowd waited expectantly, but for a tense few seconds, nothing happened. The tension was palpable and some people even left, but Tadashi didn't seem to be affected as he sighed and put his hands on his hips.

"Okay, ha ha ha. Very funny Inu." Suddenly, the robotic dog's face lit up and it jumped into the air, surprising most of the audience.

" _Bark! Bark! Bark!"_ Inu began running around the stage, earning a round of applause from the crowd while Tadashi smirked onstage.

"Yeah, sorry about that folks, she's a bit of a joker this one." Tadashi pointed at Inu. "Inu, sit!"

Inu obediently stopped in its tracks and planted itself firmly on the floor, its mechanical tail still wagging.

"So, you're all probably wondering: 'this isn't a pet show, even if the pet is a robotic dog'." The crowd chuckled at that, and I found myself with a ghost of a smile. "Well, this isn't an ordinary dog.

See, there was a psychology study a few years ago that said any form of companionship can help treat people suffering from affective disorders such as major depression and PTSD. Inu is built around that concept: a companion robot that simulates the experience of animal companionship without the troubles of having an actual pet.

Though this doesn't mean that I want to replace pets entirely, Inu's purpose is to provide those who can't normally own animals. This could be people with animal allergies or living circumstances that prevent them from having pets."

Tadashi threw his hand into the air and Inu barked before jumping up and hi-fiving him. The crowd applauded at that, and I could see the "eggheads" from SFIT look impressed.

"Inu herself runs on a program that I designed myself that emulates the basic behavior of most dogs. Although with dilligent reprogramming, I can change her to approximate other animals such as cats, hamsters or even birds. With Inu, I hope that I can one day help those people suffering from their psychological problems to recover in the best way possible. Inu, finale!"

With that, Tadashi took a bow and Inu jumped, backflipping and bowing her head as well. The crowd went wild, and even I found myself congratulating my recent aquaintance. I could see from the corner of my eye the SFIT eggheads applauding as Tadashi was led off the stage and the emcee came back once more, announcing the next showcaser would be from a technologies company: Krei Tech.

A team of scientists in white labcoats brought on stage a large metal box; it was about the legth of a grown man and as wide as one too. Then, a blonde man in a very expensive looking suit came on stage, grabbing the mic from the emcee. But before the man could speak, a loud noise blasted throughout the convention center.

I whipped my head around and saw a dozen men in dark clothes, body armor and masks rush through the entrance of the BCX, waving around assault rifles, shooting into the air.

The raiders had finally come.

Shit.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 **Sorry, cliffhanger. But at least Tadshi's here! Just a bit of background, everything here happens a few years before Big Hero 6 in the movies. But take that as a sign for a sequel to this story if you wanna think that far.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Note: Hiccup is around seventeen years old.**

Chapter 22: The Raid

 _BCX Convention Center_

 _Hiccup POV._

Total chaos reigned in the BCX. The swirling mass of people all fought each other for escape. The raiders – a team of twelve – all sported black skull masks, dark clothing and tactical gear that looked way too high class to be consumer grade. That didn't really matter to anyone at the moment as the raiders were packing some heavy weaponry: AK-74's, the AK-47's big brother. They pushed and shoved their way to the stage, but that wasn't difficult as the panicked crowd did as much as possible to avoid them.

The teacher panicked too, but did her best to herd the – also panicking – students out the emergency exits. However, the rest of the crowd had the same idea so my class mixed in with the rest of the screaming people. So it was easy to slip past the teacher's attention and head for the place Toothless stached my suit. I pushed and shoved against the crowd, careful not to trip and get trampled on. I wasn't sure where Hammond was, but if he'd followed my instructions this morning, then he should be trying to get ready as well.

Eventually, I managed to barge my way into the male's lavatory. I ran to the second to the last stall door and pushed it open, locking it behind me. I stood on the toilet cover and pushed one of the panels of the ceiling open. I waited as something began moving around the border of the open panel, and my patchwork suit dropped down along with my coat and finally my cowl. Catching them all in my arms, I looked once more at the open ceiling to see the glowing eye of the Night Terror. It did a little nod before retreating back into the skeleton of the BCX.

"Okay then." I said, holding my cowl up to eye level. "Time to go to work."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _BCX Convention Center_

 _Tadashi POV._

I'm not afraid.

I'm not afraid.

I'm not afraid.

Okay, I'm _very_ afraid.

As the hundreds of people decended upon the emergency exits, I could only hide and watch. Inu was in my arms, barking as if nothing was happening, but I couldn't really blame her. I'd only programmed her to respond to certain visual and auditory cues and mass panic wasn't really one of them.

I'd just been talking to the SFIT admissions people – who by the way were fairly impressed with my work – before all the shooting started.

 _Dammit._ I thought. SFIT was the break I needed to realise my dream: to help anyone and everyone I can. But I needed to get my priorities straight for the present. I needed to get out of here alive, I needed to get back to Hiro in one piece.

I poked my head out from the table I was hiding under, looking for an opening for me to run. Then I saw it: the stage was empty. I remembered from when I'd been led to my showcase an emergency exit located backstage. I took a deep breath to steel my nerves.

Vaulting over the table, I made a mad dash towards the stage, trying to move as fast as possible. However, fate didn't seem to like me that much, as halfway to the stage, someone – running in the opposite direction – smashed into me. I lost my balance and stumbled, impacting another person, knocking us both to the ground. I shook my head and cleared my vision, and then I wish I hadn't even thought of escape.

I'd apparently run into one of the robbers, who's eyes locked with mine. I scrambled backwards, but I didn't have enough time as the robber raised his weapon in my direction. I uselessly shielded my face with my free arm, as the other still held Inu and waited for the impact of dozens of bullets to tear through my body.

But it never came.

There were gunshots and the sound of bullets shattering glass, but they were nowhere near me as far as I could tell. I then heard a snap, crack and pop before a thud as something hit the ground.

I gingerly opened one eye, then opened the other in shock. The man… thing who saved me stood over the now unconcious robber. It wore an all black trenchcoat, so I thought it was a human, but then I saw the points protruding from its head, making me rethink my assumption. It looked over to me with glowing blue eyes and I gulped.

"H-Hi…" I started, but the masked thing suddenly turned and grabbed me by the back of my collar. He dragged me across the floor, going for one of the displays. I was about to shout and try to remove his grip on my shirt, but then I heard the gunshots and saw some of the other robbers begin shooting at where we were a few seconds ago. The robbers then shifted aim to follow our run.

"Woah!" I shouted as we slid behind the display and the bullets crashed against it, not entirely blocking it, but obscuring us to the point where the gunfire was horribly innacurate. He shielded me with his body as the bombardment continued, but as it died down he slowly got off me.

"You good?" asked the masked thing in a gravelly voice. I was sure it was a man now as I got a closer look at his face and saw it was a hi-tech mask of some sort.

"Y-Yeah. I'm okay." I said and Inu barked in excitement, not exactly understanding what was happening around her.

"Good. Okay, listen to me, you need to get out of here. I'll distract them and my friend will escort you out." The man said. I nodded absently. "Do you understand?"

"Y-Yeah! I understand!" I snapped out of my trance. I don't know why I'm so unfocused, it might just be shock.

"Alright. When I make a move, you run to that pillar over there." The man pointed towards a square pillar a few feet away. It looked large enough to properly shield me from gunfire and close enough so I wouldn't immediately be gunned down along the way.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, looking to the pillar and looking back to the man.

"Okay."

"Alright, on three." The man pulled something from under his coat and held it in his hand. "Two…"

"Wait!" 

"What?"

"Who are you?"

I couldn't see behind the mask, but I could almost feel the man smirking.

"Haven't you heard? I'm your friendly neighborhood Night Fury." With that, the Night Fury jumped over our cover, throwing whatever was in his hands. I heard a small pop and a thick cloud of smoke billowed from where the robbers were standing. "Go!"

I scrambled for the pillar, running as fast as I can as I heard the sound of gunshots behind me. I nearly slipped, but recovered fast and pressing my body against the pillar. I felt a few stray bullets impact the surface, but none penetrated so it was safe to assume I was covered. I looked around frantically for Night Fury's "friend", but found no one except a few people – stragglers – left behind in the chaos. Then, out of nowhere, I saw the floor before me slide open like there was some sort of panel, which I knew there wasn't. I tensed, ready to run at a moments notice as someone's head popped out of the opening.

 _Another mask?_ I thought as I looked at the newcomer. He too wore all black, but his seemed more… theatrical I guess you could say. He wore a hooded cape fastened around his collar bone. He looked like he was wearing plate armor, but it didn't look that thick, it looked sleek and flexible. His face was mostly uncovered except for a black domino mask.

"Hey, come on, we gotta go!" said the stranger.

"W-Who are you?"

"I'm your escape that's what. Now come on man, I've still got everyone else to evacuate." I didn't really register his comment, but then he got an alarmed look on his face. "Watch out!"

I whipped my head around to see one of the robbers had gotten close and had pointed the barrel of his gun at my head. My brain stopped working as I stared at his black skull mask and he stared into my frightened eyes. I watched his finger twitch, ready to pull the trigger and I could only watch as my last moments unfolded.

Suddenly, he dropped down and his shot went wild, spraying upwards. I fell on my butt in panick. However, I saw that the robber was slowly sinking into the floor – which had turned into some sort of viscous fluid. The robber tried to squirm free, but the floor was like quicksand as he sank deeper and deeper the more he moved. He tried once more to take aim with his gun, but it suddenly flew out of his hands. So he could only struggle and shout until he was shoulder deep, then the floor solidified and the robber was left stuck in the ground.

"Come on!" Shouted the mask and I looked to him to see his hand on the floor, the liquified ground trailing from his palm. I nodded finally, looking left and right before jumping into the hole. I landed on my feet and looked around. I could see that it was a long tunnel, lit up by a string of light bulbs heading to – what seemed like – nowhere. Inu barked once, bringing my attention back to the stranger.

"Take this path all the way to the end, it'll take you outside where the police are waiting." He said, hopping down and closing the exit behind us.

"What the hell is happening? Who are you people?!" I was really becoming both confused and panicked, but most of those feelings went away as I saw the stranger's smile.

"We're Berk's vigilantee heroes! I'm pretty new to the game myself, but if you want a name, you can call me… _Alchemy_."

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

 _BCX Convention Center_

 _Hiccup POV._

Smoke blanketed the area as I rushed through it. There were about three raiders caught in the smoke and, using my sonic vision, made quick work of them.

I leaped on one, using my weight to push him down and smash his head on the ground. I did a combat roll forward as another one of the raiders whipped his weapon in my direction. I rolled underneath his line of fire, and once I got close, I grabbed the barrel of his gun, pushing it to the side whilst standing up. I swiftly placed a right hook to his face and then kicked his chest, sending him staggering. I used the opportunity to throw the gun right at his face.

The magazine hit him right on his nose and before he could even say "ouch" I rushed over and leaped into the air, spin-kicking the raider right in the side of the head. With him out cold, I turned my attention to the last one in the smoke. However, just as I turned my head, I felt my danger sense flare in the back of my mind. I didn't hesitate to leap left as the raider launched a hail of bullets right at me.

I narrowly managed to take cover behind a display of some kind of car which shielded me from the rest of the gunfire. I could still see the raider through my sonic vision; his skeletal image still wildly firing the AK-74. I reached into a pouch on my suit, pulling out a new weapon I'd prepared for today.

It wasn't another smokebomb – gods know I'm running out of those – but a blunted four-point shuriken about three inches in diameter that Toothless made for me. I noticed a few weeks ago that if anyone were to pin me down with guns, I'd be completely at their mercy, so I needed some sort of projectile to throw back at them. I know, a bit mundane, but what did you expect? Dragon-shaped shurikens?

I waited until the raider stopped to reload, and when he did, I stood up from cover and threw the shuriken. It smashed into his cheek, the impact cracking he mask he wore. As he swore and reeled backwards, I used the car as a launchpad to jump towards him. I delivered a flying punch, sending the raider flying two feet before crashing to the ground unconcious.

"Three down, nine to go." I said. My danger sense buzzed and I ducked on instinct as something flew over my head. I rose, looking at what flew by to see it was one of the raiders – who was now crumpled over one of the demonstration stands. I looked in the direction he came from to see Hammond – or Alchemy as he now calls himself – lauging nervously and rubbing the back of his head.

"Oops, sorry. Umm… that's five down." He said. I held back a sigh as I looked around the convention center.

"Are the people safe?" I asked curtly and he nodded.

"Yep, aside from some leftover security and a few stragglers hiding here and there, they've either made it to the emergency exits or the tunnels I dug a few days ago." I sighed in relief at the news, switching my HUD to normal vision. Now that most of the civilians are out of the way, we can concentrate more on the actual raiders.

"Alright, good job Alchemy." I think my gratitude meant more than I thought it did as Alchemy's face lit up like a christmas tree.

"No problemo Night Fury!"

"FREEZE!" Someone shouted. Alchemy and I turned around to see – none other than – my dad. He planted himself as he pointed his gun at us, ready to shoot at a moment's notice.

Alchemy tensed, about to make a move, but I slowly held out my arm and shook my head.

"Find the rest of the raiders. I'll handle this." I said

"B-But Night Fury!" Alchemy protested, but I looked at him, tilting my head down a bit so I looked angry.

"Go." Alchemy was silent, but nodded anyways and took off running.

"Stop!" Dad shouted, pointing his gun at him, but I stepped into his line of fire and he visibly stiffed.

"Da-… ahem… Lieutenant. Nice to see you again." I said, but dad just looked at me angrily.

"Night Fury. You're under arrest."

"Really? Now? Can't this wait?"

"You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law…" Dad said and I groaned.

"Look Lieutenant, we both know that you need me right now. Arresting me isn't going to help anyone." I tried to reason with him, but he seemed – at most – conflicted.

"You know I can't do that, it's my duty…"

"It's _my_ duty," I cut him off. "to make sure that these dirtbags don't get away with whatever they came for. Because if they do, they could put a lot of people's lives in danger. Now I don't know if you've lost anyone or not, but I have, and I've promised never to let anyone die on my watch again. So you can either help me, or step out of my way."

My words struck a chord with both of us; mom's death hit him as much as it hit me. So I knew bringing that particular topic up – as much as it hurt both of us – would be able to convince him. I saw his eyes light up in fury, his hands trembled in the grip of hid gun, until his eyes closed and he let out a deep sigh, lowering his weapon.

"Go. Do something before I change my mind." I nodded, grappling up onto the supports of the celling, leaving dad on the ground in deep thought.

"Sorry dad." I muttered before making my way along the rafters as I searched for the rest of the raiders. I found my answer in the form of the last six raiders on the stage. They seemed to be surrounding the metal box that was last to be showcased earlier by… what was it? Krei Tech I believe. Two of them were fiddling with – what looked like – a control panel on the side of the box, while the other four looked to be interrogating hostages kneeling on the ground – a blonde man in a suit and a team of scientists.

My eyes narrowed as I switched on my communications and called Alchemy.

"Alchemy?"I asked. There was a buzz of static, but Alchemy's voice whispered back.

" _Yeah, I'm on."_

"Where are you? I've got six baddies on the stage. They've got hostages."

" _Yeah, I saw them earlier. I'm actually underneath the stage right now. One of my tunnels run underneath here, so I was going to go for a surprise attack, but then they brought out the hostages so I just stayed put. What do I do?"_ I put my hand on my chin in contemplation, looking at the situation, trying to figure out a plan of attack.

"Can you get the hostages out?"

" _Umm, I think so. I know where they are so I could probably open up a few holes to bring them underground. Should I do that?"_

"No, not yet. I'll distract the raiders and when I do, you open up those holes. The hostages come first."

" _Got it."_ Alchemy agreed.

"Good. Turn up the range on your microphone, I wanna hear what they're saying down there."

" _Uhh, hang on."_ There was a shuffling sound and another wave of static, but the sound cleared up and I could just hear the conversation that went on below me.

"… _not going to ask again."_ Said one raider – his voice lightly accented (cockney) – as he pointed his assault rifle at the head of the blonde man. _"Tell me how to open the box."_

" _I told you, that 'box', is worth more than this entire building. I'm not handing the code to you animals!"_ Argued the blonde. Brave man, but brave for the wrong reasons.

" _Okay then Mr. Krei. You have around ten seconds to open the box, or I'll be opening up a hole your skull."_ The raider raised his rifle to the man's – Krei's – head.

" _Ah ah! Alright, alright!"_ Krei consented. The raider motioned for him to move, and Krei stood up and walked over to the metal box. The raider kept his gun trained on Krei as he walked over to the side of the box, waving his hands over the surface. I saw he'd activated the control panel and began typing a code. The panel flashed for a second and then turned green.

" _Good boy."_ Spoke the raider, shoving Krei back into line with the other hostages. Once Krei was in line, the raider pulled on of his comrades aside and said: _"Take care of them."_

The other raider nodded and gestured to the other three raiders who nodded as well. I knew quite well what they meant by "taking care" of the hostages, so I had no time to lose. I hooked my grapple around the roof support I was on, jumping and rapelling down. I saw everything move in slow motion: my cowl switched to combat vision as the raiders raised their weapons at the hostages who were shouting and pleading for their lives. I kept the grappling hook at a steady decent until I was at least five feet above a raider – the comerade of the interrogator. At that height, I drew back my grapple, letting the momentum of a five foot free fall crash into the raider.

My knees pressed him into the floor, shoving the wind out of his lungs and – maybe – breaking some ribs. The raiders with their guns at the hostages didn't seem to react fast enough as without hesitation I threw a shuriken at one of them. It impacted his gun, throwing his aim wide and causing him to shoot at the feet of his compatriots. The bullets hit the area around their feet, missing the hostages and causing the other raiders to leap back in alarm.

"Alchemy!" I shouted. Immediately, a large hole appeared underneath Krei and the scientists and they fell shrieking in shock. The raiders seemed to have no idea what was happening as the hole closed just as fast as it opened. I wasted no time in attacking, going for the raider who's gun I hit. I ran at him full speed, smashing into his stomach with my shoulder. The force shoved him into the man next to him, knocking them both onto the ground. Without missing a beat, I shot my grappling hook at the gun of a raider across from me. The grapple head punched through the middle of the gun, hooking itself on the other side.

The raider could do nothing as I spun, yanking the gun out of his hands. I then used the weapon as a projectile, directing the flying weapon at the last raider, who was about to pull the trigger. The gun smashed him in the face, cracking his mask and knocking him out cold. The remaining raider, now weaponless was easy pickings as he tried to go against me hand to hand. I ducked his first punch and reverse-kicked him in the face.

I attempted to catch my breath, but my danger sense rang and I jumped to the side on instinct as a hail of bullets came flying at me. I jumped off the stage and hid behind the elevation of the stage from the floor. I kept my head low as the bullets didn't stop, and eventually the remaining three raiders all joined together, firing in unison. When one reloaded, another kept shooting and vice versa until I was effectively pinned down.

"Alchemy! I need support!" I shouted, ducking a bullet. There was some static over the line, and then the sound transformed into more gunshots and Alchemy's shouting voice.

" _Crap! A little busy here! These raiders brought backup!"_ Alchemy shouted. I heard more gunshots and the sound of stone breaking, and the line cut out.

 _Great. Just fucking great._ I thought as I tried to look for an opportunity to escape or fight back, but they had the high ground and I could tell that they were moving closer and closer as the shot at me. _No ideas. No escape. I am so screwed._

That is, until one of the raiders shouted in alarm. I heard one of the raiders shout in alarm, before feeling the gunshots turn away from me. I reluctantly popped my head over the stage.

My eyes widened in shock as one raider was trying to pry something off his face. I shook my head to make sure I wasn't seeing things, but I wasn't: the thing on the raider's face was a familiar white robotic dog, clinging on to his head with her front paws.

"Inu?!" I said. I looked around until I spotted Tadashi Hamada hiding behind a pillar. We locked eyes and he nervously nodded and I returned the gesture.

"Brave." I muttered, smirking, before hopping over the stage. And charging the raiders. They were busy with Inu that they didn't see me until I delivered a flying spin-kick to one raider's head. He fell to the ground with a thud and I turned to face the last two raiders who had been able to dispose of Inu by throwing her to the side and off the stage.

"Surrender, or else." I threatened and one raider laughed.

"Or else what?" He asked. I recognised his voice and the accent as the one who interrogated Krei a while ago.

"Or else I kick your asses." I stood in a battle stance and the raiders did as well.

"Ha Ha. Bring it freak." He taunted and I charged him (who in my head I've dubbed as Interrogator).

Interrogator's partner – the other raider – tried to intercept me by raising his gun. I instinctively ducked down under his aim, taking the opportunity to punch him in the stomach. As he doubled over, I grabbed his head and kneed him in the face. I then kicked him at Interrogator, trying to push them both to the ground, but he merely pushed the raider to the side and off the stage.

I grunted, rushing Interrogator, going for a flying spin kick to the head to end this quickly. However, I didn't expect him to react and duck my kick. My leg sailed over his head and before I had time to express my surprise, he slugged me in the stomach. My danger sense reacted, but I was in the air so I had no way of dodging. I flew back and crashed to the ground, coughing as Interrogator stood over me, his black skull mask staring me down.

"Really? Is this really the guy who's been screwing with the Dragons? Thought you'd put up more of a fight." I could tell Interrogator was smirking behind that mask as I pushed myself up to stand.

"Sorry, I'm a bit hard of hearing. Why don't you come here and say that to my face." I retorted before resuming a battle stance.

"Gladly." Interrogator raised his gun and I flinched, but my danger sense was silent. We stared each other down for a few tense seconds before he laughed, pulling the strap over his shoulder and throwing his weapon to the ground.

"Why don't we do this the old fashioned way? Just to play fair." Interrogator said as he charged. My danger sense finally started ringing as he threw a series of quick jabs, almost nailing me in the face.

I weaved and blocked around his punches and tried to counter attack, but I couldn't find an opening to strike. He swung his fist in a deadly right hook and I barely managed to block it with my arm. He replied by retracting his right hand and using his left to jab at my face. I blocked this as well, but was unprepared for the right kick to my side. The wind was forced out of my lungs and my guard lowered for a moment, but that was all Interrogator needed as he puched me in the stomach and delivered a powerful left hook to my face.

Even through my mask, the force of his punch really rattled me. He tried to go for another jab to the face, but I decided to back off. His punch went short as I danced away from him.

"What? Running away now?" Interrogator taunted. I rubbed my jaw, feeling for how much damage he did.

It was at this point I knew that this guy was nothing like the other guns for hire I've faced before – he had actual training and skill in combat. And as much as I can hold my own, I'm more of an instinct brawler over a skilled fighter, even with my metahuman memory. I mean sure I can take out a couple of thugs with meat for brains, but up against someone who actually knows how to fight? I'm gonna have some trouble.

I growled and ran at him. I went for a roundhouse kick to the head, but Interrogator weaved under my leg. He tried to go for a swift punch to my face, but my danger sense saw this and I pushed his hand out of the way inches before my face. He seemed confident, but this move gave me the opening I needed.

Now I was outside his guard, and I used that to spin around, smashing my elbow on the back of his head. The blow dazed him and he wobbled a bit. Finally a chance. I hooked my foot on his leg and placed my hand on his chest. I pushed my hand and pulled my leg, throwing off Interrogator's balance and sending him toppling over. His head smashed the ground, but I didn't give him a chance to recover as I leaped into the air, bringing my elbow down on his stomach.

He heaved in agony as I quickly got up and went back into a battle stance. Interrogator slowly pulled himself up, huffing.

"Well, looks like the dragon has teeth." He growled and I prepared myself for another attack. I saw him go into a battle stance, but something began beeping and he looked to his wrist.

"Late for a dentist appointment? I'm pretty sure you'll need it after I knock a few of your teeth out." I jeered but Interrogator laughed back.

"No, it's actually for you. It's your funeral arrangement." My eyebrow raised, but my danger sense blasting in my head told me to jump to the side. Lucky I did as I heard a loud crash and the back of a school bus bashed through the side wall of the BCX with something stuck on the back.

As I got to my feet, I saw the something on the back was Alchemy. The momentum and sudden stop of the bus threw him rearwards and he landed on his back, groaning but seemingly okay. I saw the back door open to reveal another raider wielding an LMG pointed directly at Alchemy. My body moved faster than the raider's as I ran, grabbing Alchemy's hood and pulling him over the stage, shielding us both from the oncoming fire.

"Alchemy!" I shouted, but he seemed to be out cold. "Alchemy! Hammond!"

I slapped him and he jolted to life, shaking his head and flailing around.

"Wha-! Schoolbus!" He tried to pop his head over the stage, but I pulled him down as another volley of bullets impacted over us. "What the hell happened?!"

"You got hit by a bus." I deadpanned. Despite the gunfire, I poked my head over cover to see another pair of raiders and Interrogator loading the large metal box into the schoolbus.

"Well Night Fury, it's been fun, but we've got business to finish. So long!" Interrogator waved, retreating into the bus, followed by the LMG raider. I leaped over the stage and ran for the bus, but it was already speeding away, shooting from out of the wall and driving onto the street.

"It's getting away!" I shouted and Alchemy – regaining his composure – levatated into the air and sped after them. I wasted no time as well, sprinting full speed out the hole the bus made and grapling onto the nearest building.

If I'd stayed a bit longer, or even looked back, I would have noticed an awestruck Tadashi stepping from out behind a pillar, his jaw hanging open.

"Woah."

 **XXXXXXXXXX**


End file.
